Cargill, Gastromotiva team up to address global food challenges

MINNEAPOLIS — Cargill and Brazilian non-profit Gastromotiva are teaming up to globalize the Social Gastronomy Movement, which uses food to address social inequality, improve nutrition education, eliminate food waste and create jobs.
Cargill has signed on as a founding partner, which includes a three-year, $1.5 million commitment to scale the community-based approach to tackle these urgent societal challenges across the globe.
Movement. Gastromotiva helped to pioneer the Social Gastronomy Movement, with chefs driving the effort in local communities.
Connecting the world through food, education Chef David Hertz founded Gastromotiva to create opportunities for those living on the margins of society, while also working to reduce food waste.
Currently, they provide vocational kitchen training, entrepreneurial classes and nutrition education in communities across Brazil, El Salvador, South Africa and Mexico.
Refettorio Gastromotiva, a community kitchen in Rio de Janeiro, serves as both a school and a restaurant. There, students receive free vocational training and help prepare meals made from food surplus that would otherwise go to waste. The meals are served restaurant-style to people in need.
“By training people to work as chefs, feeding those in need and using food that would have otherwise gone to waste, we generate opportunities, lift up those who are struggling and empower the world through service,” said Hertz.
Cargill’s partnership was forged to take this model to scale. The partners will focus on launching an online platform and establishing new hubs in communities around the world.
“Food is the great connector — and the Social Gastronomy Movement can serve as an equalizer — restoring dignity and respect for anyone in need of a meal or in need of a job,” said Devry Boughner Vorwerk, Cargill corporate vice president.
Read more at socialgastronomy.org.