Explore innovative public dining models from around the world and learn how cities are reimagining food access through publicly-operated restaurants.
Friday, August 29th, 2025 – 11 AM ET
Global Kitchens, Local Communities: How Public Restaurants Shape Urban Life
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Join the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center and Community Kitchen for a virtual panel featuring:
- Mark Bittman, Founder and President of the Board, Community Kitchen and Founder, The Bittman Project
- Emanuelle Cardoso Zibral Santos, Director, Popular Food Units
- Anna Chworow, Deputy Director, Nourish Scotland
- Abigail McCall, Project Officer, Nourish Scotland
Moderated by:
- Alexina Cather, MPH, Director of Policy and Special Projects, Wellness in the Schools and Advisory Board Co-Chair, Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center
- Rae Gomes, MFA, Executive Director, Community Kitchen and Board Member of National Black Food and Justice Alliance
Mark Bittman -Founder and President of Board- Community Kitchen
Mark Bittman is the founder of The Bittman Project and Community Kitchen, a non-profit
restaurant he calls “the most important project I’ve ever worked on,” with a pilot restaurant
expected to launch in September 2025. He lives in the Hudson Valley with his partner,
Kathleen Finlay, executive director of the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming
and founder of Pleiades, a national network of women leaders addressing environmental and
social justice.
Bittman has been writing about food and has been a leading voice in global food culture and
policy for more than a generation. He has written thirty books, including the standard How to
Cook Everything, Food Matters, VB6 (an instant #1 NYT bestseller), and Animal, Vegetable,
Junk: A History of Food from Sustainable to Suicidal, which The New York Times called “epic
and engrossing.” During three decades at the Times, he created “The Minimalist” column,
served as the Sunday Magazine’s lead food writer, and became the country’s first weekly
opinion writer at a major publication to concentrate on food. He has hosted or been featured in
four television series including the Emmy-winning “Years of Living Dangerously,” won
countless awards for journalism, books, and television, and his 2007 TED Talk has been
viewed ten million times.
Emanuelle Cardoso Zibral Santos – Director – Belo Horizonte – Popular Food Units
As Director of Popular Food Units, Emanuelle has been working on Food and Nutrition Security Policy since 2012. She graduated in Nutrition, with postgraduate studies in Management for Food Companies and Food Safety, and holds a Master’s in Food Science.
Abigail McCall – Project Officer- Nourish Scotland
Abigail McCall has been working on Nourish Scotland’s public diners work programs for the past 2
years. She is currently focusing on building an international learning and advocacy mechanism for
public restaurants. Abigail has a background in journalism, food policy and human rights.
Anna Chworow – Deputy Director – Nourish Scotland
Anna‘s background is in community development and systems thinking. She is interested in using
thinking tools and participatory methods to help achieve lasting change. She joined Nourish Scotland in She leads on the public diners work.
