Advocating for legal, regulatory, and policy reform in health and food systems.

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI) advocates for legal, regulatory, and policy reforms in health and food systems, with a focus on the health, public health, and food needs of systemically marginalized individuals. CHLPI’s broad range of initiatives aim to expand access to high-quality health care and nutritious, affordable food; to reduce health- and food-related disparities; to develop community advocacy capacity; and, to promote more equitable, sustainable and effective health care and food systems.

As a clinical teaching program of Harvard Law School, our staff mentor students to become skilled, innovative, and thoughtful food and health system practitioners. CHLPI is comprised of the Health Law and Policy Clinic (HLPC) and the Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC).

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation’s (CHLPI) mission is not achievable without recognizing the role that systems of power and oppression play in our society, institutions, and ourselves. As CHLPI works broadly to promote health and food justice, we acknowledge that we continue to benefit from systems built on the exploitation of many. We recognize that our operations still exist within institutions and structures that uphold systems of power and oppression through racism, ableism, classism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, white supremacy, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination. To achieve CHLPI’s mission, we must learn to identify and interrupt these harmful systems. We know that we cannot do this alone and that we have a lot to learn from our community partners and BIPOC-led organizations. CHLPI is committed to this journey of learning, acknowledging missteps, and growth. We will continue to add reflection, humility, and intentionality into our operations, and seek accountability along the way. All laws and policies should allow everyone the opportunity to achieve optimal health and well-being, and so too should CHLPI.

This is a living statement that is subject to change as our learning continues and our understanding of justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion evolves.