NUTRITION & LIFESTYLE MEDICINE CONFERENCES
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See Why P-POD? 18 conferences done! See Sept. 14 & 26-28, & Oct. 5, 2025 agendas, details! Registration opens January
Hurricane Helene closed our nonprofit's Asheville site, so we moved. All year-end donations are now TRIPLE-matched!
Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, 2023: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark NJ
P-POD is proud to have hosted nearly every conference since 2014 at distinguished nonprofit public universities. This is true again, from Sat. Sept. 30 to Mon. Oct. 2, 2023, for our 15th national conference, at: New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), rated by Forbes Magazine as the #1 public university in New Jersey. This venue is located just five miles from Newark Liberty International Airport, fourteenth busiest airport in the U.S.
Program Sessions, all in daylight hours:
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Campus Center
150 Bleeker St.
Newark NJ 07102
Distance by Foot to P-POD's Building
The final part of reaching our all-daylight-hours P-POD will be walking to our Campus Center conference building. Unless a vehicle drops you off without parking, you'd usually expect at least an 850 to 875 ft. (1/6th mile) walk to reach the entrance. (850 ft. is figured from our free university parking facility exit, and 875 feet from the non-wheelchair-accessible exit of Newark Light Rail at Warren, or from the wheelchair-accessible-bus stop at Central and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) However, we've booked a small number of parking spaces in a normally unavailable site for use of mobility impaired persons by advance arrangement. The distances to the closest and farthest part of that lot will be 325 and 525 feet. For persons who get dropped off by car but do not need their own parking place, we believe that the closest drop-off point for a car will be a certain spot on Bleeker St. 230 feet from the entrance.
Amtrak to Newark
All Amtrak Newark trains stop at Newark Penn Station, but not all stop at Newark Liberty International Airport Station. You should choose your train and your stop based on the Newark area you will be staying in:
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If you will stay at an airport area hotel, such as Hampton shown on this page, then you should get off at Newark Liberty International Airport Station. Hold on to your Amtrak ticket, which you will use for free access to your connector. Look for directions to change to the Newark Liberty International Airport AirTrain. Take it one stop to the "P4" station. Go all the way downstairs to the curb-level shuttle lane, where EVERY hotel's free shuttle will stop, either once or twice hourly in each case. Watch carefully for your hotel van's name!
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If you will stay at the TRYP hotel shown on this page, then you should get off at Newark Penn Station. However, BEFORE traveling you should contact TRYP to arrange to use their free Penn Station shuttle upon your arrival, and to get instructions about what to do then.
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If you will be staying somewhere else besides an airport area hotel or the TRYP hotel we show below: Note that we do not know about a Penn Station shuttle being offered by any hotel other than P-POD-listed ones, however every major Newark hotel DOES offer a free airport shuttle. Therefore, if you ARE staying in a hotel, you would by default do best following the instructions regarding the airport station above. If you are not staying in a hotel, and are not being picked up by someone you know, Penn Station taxis are always on hand. If you know the area very well, then the public transportation connections at Penn Station may be useful.
Local Public Transportation
If you are in the Metro NY / Newark NJ area, public transportation may help you get to P-POD. Some speakers will come this way! Keep in mind: Newark Penn Station, 1 Raymond Plaza West &, Market St., Newark NJ 07102, is the main transportation hub you'll probably pass through, and https://www.njtransit.com/trip-planner-to is a handy online route planning /timing / connecting tool. We will give registrants walking maps to illustrate the following:
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Shortest walk possible: 875 ft. from a not-wheelchair-accessible station. Take Newark Light Rail Grove St. Line 4 minutes from Newark Penn Sta. to Warren St. Sta. The walk, 1/6th mile, is all on campus, not crossing streets. From before 7 am daily, these trains leave every 20 minutes on Sat., every 25 minutes on Sun.
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Also 875 ft. walk but less frequent service: Take NJ Transit buses (they say all wheelchair accessible) 6 minutes from Newark Penn Sta. to Central Ave. at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Sat./Sun. mornings starting about 7 am, these buses are 40 minutes apart and mostly #41 but a couple are #108, so study the online Trip Planner!
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3,345 ft. walk (5/8ths mile) but the only way from Manhattan to P-POD with just one ride: This does NOT go through Newark Penn Sta.! Instead of the extra 4 or 6 minute ride above, you do about 1/2 mile more walking. This would also be a "one-ride" method for ANYONE who wanted to use the New Jersey Transit Morris & Essex Line or Montclair-Boonton Line trains for commuting, for example, from Secaucus, Montclair, Summit or the Oranges. ONLY THESE two train lines stop at Newark Broad St. Sta. INSTEAD OF Newark Penn Sta., thus the 5/8ths mile walk to P-POD. From New York Penn Sta., Secaucus is the 1st stop and Newark Broad St. is the 2nd.
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HOW TO GET TO NEWARK PENN STA.? From there you may use the 1st two connections above. But first:
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From Manhattan's Penn Station take New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor OR North Jersey Coast Line OR Raritan Valley Line trains two stops to Penn Station Newark; or
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Take any of those three New Jersey Transit train lines one stop from Secaucus to Penn Station Newark; or
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From Manhattan's World Trade Center take a PATH train 5 stops to Penn Station Newark; or
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From Jersey City NJ, take a PATH train 4 stops from Exchange Pl., 3 stops from Grove St. or 2 stops from Journal Sq. to Penn Station Newark; or
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From certain NJ towns just south or west of Newark, like Elizabeth, Linden, Rahway, Roselle Park or Union, take a New Jersey Transit train north or east a few stops to Penn Station Newark.
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Driving/Parking
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Our arranged hotels charge $0 or $20 per day for parking, so please note hotel comparison below.
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If you park a car at our conference site, you're allowed free unlimited parking at N.J. Institute of Technology's 154 Summit St. Parking Deck, about an 850 ft. walk to P-POD. We will give registrants a walking map.
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We've booked a small number of parking spaces in a normally unavailable site for use of mobility impaired persons by advance arrangement. Distances are 325 and 525 ft. to the closest and farthest parts of that lot.
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The walk from Summit St. lot crosses a regular city street, and from the other lot crosses a lightly traveled one.
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Google Maps directions to the conference building, not to any particular parking site, may be viewed HERE.
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Google Maps directions to the specific 154 Summit St. Parking Deck site may be viewed HERE.
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Here is a sampling of driving distances to P-POD (150 Bleeker St., Newark NJ 07102) from selected cities:
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Albany 146 mi; Baltimore 180 mi; Boston 226 mi; Buffalo 364 mi; Burlington 294 mi; Cleveland 453 mi; Hartford 126 mi; Ithaca 212 mi; Montreal 366 mi; New Haven 91 mi; Philadelphia 86 mi; Pittsburgh 362 mi; Providence 192 mi; Raleigh 487 mi; Richmond 325 mi; Rochester 304 mi; Springfield 153 mi; State College 226 mi; Toronto 462 mi; Trenton 58 mi; Washington 224 mi; Wilmington 115 mi.
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Airport to Hotel
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The Newark Liberty International Airport address is 10 Toler Pl., Newark NJ 07114 and website is HERE.
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If you will be renting a car on arrival, take the free Airport AirTrain to stop "P3" for all rental companies.
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If you are not renting a car, but are staying in a Newark hotel, take the free Airport AirTrain to stop "P4". Go all the way downstairs to the curb-level shuttle lane, where EVERY hotel's free shuttle will stop, either once or twice hourly in each case. Watch carefully for your hotel van's name!
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If you go straight from airport to P-POD, not a hotel, there are 5 car miles to 150 Bleeker St., Newark NJ 07102.
2 Hotel Options for Out-of-towners, 1 With P-POD Shuttle
UPDATE: BOTH of our price-negotiated hotel room blocks, at TRYP and Hampton Airport hotels, are now closed because all our rooms were taken, and the TRYP is completely full overall. Though all our arranged rooms had rates of $130 to $139 + tax per night, we believe that all Newark hotels of comparable caliber now have rates over $200 + tax per night for the nights of the conference. [One of our main criteria is showing Tripadvisor reviews at least 4 out of 5 in Cleanliness, and similarly 4 out of 5 in at least two of the three categories Service, Location and Value.]
You may find favorable lodging in the region by searching, but here are examples in Newark itself that we might have considered. All have free airport shuttles but none have P-POD shuttles like TRYP did:
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The Hampton airport hotel where we had a block, described in detail below, has at least a few rooms available, but the price is over $200 + tax per night now.
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The DoubleTree by Hilton Newark Penn Station, website HERE, seems more suited to people without cars. Its basic charges are a bit over $200 + tax per night now as with the others, but additionally their outsourced parking facility charges almost $50/day. However, it is extremely convenient for public transit to P-POD. It is across the street from (and connected by passageway to) Penn Station, where, as described elsewhere on this page, you can take the not-wheelchair-accessible Newark Light Rail Grove St. Line 4 minutes to Warren St. Sta., then walk 875 feet (1/6th mile) through campus to P-POD without crossing a street.
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Hampton Inn & Suites Newark-Harrison-Riverwalk, website HERE, 1.2 to 1.3 driving miles (or 1.0 miles walking) from P-POD, could seem of interest, but its rates, a bit over $200 + tax per night now, jump by about $30/night if you don't make your reservation non-cancellable non-refundable.
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Fairfield Inn & Suites Newark Liberty International Airport, website HERE, 3.3 driving miles from P-POD, was quite satisfactory when a P-POD staffer had stayed there. Price a bit over $200 + tax per night as with the others.
PLEASE READ THE UPDATE ABOVE REGARDING HOTELS! Since 2014 we have always arranged hotel room blocks at negotiated prices for out-of-town attendees to consider. For our two Newark hotels below, as always, we ensured that they are rated at least 4 out of 5 level in certain Tripadvisor reviews. To be specific, at least 4 out of 5 in Cleanliness, and similarly 4 out of 5 in at least two of the three categories Service, Location and Value.
Most of our years, we could secure rooms for $99/night plus tax, and $109/night plus tax more recently, but inflation has taken a toll, and marketplaces in areas like New York City and Atlanta are expensive. 2023 Newark rates are $130 and $139, lower than lodging for most professional conferences.
[NOTE that the TRYP hotel is now FULL.]
P-POD'S FREE SHUTTLE runs daily, TRYP hotel to/from the conference, once pre-breakfast, once after Sat. or Sun. dinner, once at a set time after P-POD's end on Monday. Space limited. Email info@p-pod.org to reserve.
QUICK-VIEW, COMPARING TWO HOTELS:
[NOTE THAT OUR ARRANGED ROOM BLOCKS BELOW ARE FULL. PLEASE SCROLL UP TO SEE FOUR LAST-MINUTE SUGGESTED OPTIONS.]
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Distance: TRYP is 4/5ths of a mile walking or 1.1 miles driving, from P-POD. Hampton is 5.38 miles from P-POD, but very close to the airport.
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TRYP has a free daily P-POD shuttle, once pre-breakfast, once after Sat. or Sun. dinner, once at end Monday. Space limited. Email info@p-pod.org to reserve.
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Both have complimentary (free) shuttles to Newark Liberty Int'l Airport.
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TRYP has a complimentary shuttle to Penn Station Newark (Amtrak, NJ Transit, PATH).
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Both are rated at least 4 out of maximum 5 in certain Tripadvisor reviews as noted in the writeup above.
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Hampton has free parking (one car per guest), TRYP charges $20/day.
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Deadlines to book using P-POD rates: Hampton, Sept. 22; TRYP, Sept. 8.
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P-POD guaranteed rates/availability apply to Fri.-Sat.-Sun.-Mon. nights for both.
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Cancellation of a reservation without penalty must be done by 24 hours before arrival for TRYP, and by 4 pm, 48 hours before arrival, for Hampton.
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Both are smoke-free, with fitness rooms and free internet.
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Both have business centers or printing workstations.
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Both have 3 pm check-in, Hampton has 11 am checkout and TRYP has noon checkout.
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Mini-refrigerators are in Hampton and 2-bed TRYP rooms, and TRYP is now installing refrigerators in the listed 1-bed rooms before the dates of the conference.
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Hampton allows only service animals as pets, and we are inquiring regarding the TRYP policy.
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Hampton has access to laundry facilities, and TRYP has a fast-turnaround pay-laundry service that can be requested from the guest room.
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Hampton has an electric vehicle charging station.
NOW FULL! TRYP by Wyndham
24 East Park St., Newark NJ 07102
973-642-7100, 973-688-3998
All features appear under "QUICK-VIEW" above.
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P-POD arranged Room Rates, excluding tax
$130-- for king bed, queen bed or double queen rooms, as available (additional parking fees $20/day)
There is a free daily P-POD shuttle, once each direction. Space limited. Email info@p-pod.org to reserve.
FULL->To book rooms at this P-POD arranged rate, call 973-642-7100 or 973-688-3998 and use Group Code 090923NJI. For shuttle only, email info@p-pod.org!
BOOKING AT THIS PRICE MUST OCCUR BY DEADLINE FRI. SEPT. 8. HOTEL IS NOW FULL!!
P-POD arranged Room Rates, excluding Tax
$139-- for two Queen bed room
(no car parking fees for a single car, $30/day for a 2nd one)
ROOM BLOCK IS FULL.
You may book at this P-POD arranged rate at the LINK HERE which has their "P POD" coded rate pre-loaded.
BOOKING AT THIS PRICE MUST OCCUR BY FRI. SEPT. 22. BUT, OUR ROOM BLOCK ALREADY GOT FILLED!
Hampton Inn Newark Airport--ROOMS IN OUR BLOCK ARE NOW ALL TAKEN.
450 Route 1 and 9 South
Newark NJ 07114
973-242-0900
All features appear under "QUICK-VIEW" above.
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