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Alumni in Action

MA, Food Studies

Graduates of our MA in Food Studies are creating impact in a range of areas including policy and advocacy, business and social entrepreneurship, and media and cultural analysis.

What’s on your plate?

From food media and entrepreneurship to food policy and research, NYU Steinhardt’s Food Studies master’s program provides students with the opportunity to learn about different aspects of the food industry. Drawing from numerous areas of study, graduates are empowered to carve their own professional path. 

To better understand the diverse careers that our Food Studies grads are pursuing, we asked four alumni about their experience as students and since graduating: How do they spend their work days? What current projects or future goals are they working towards? In other words, What’s on their plate?

What’s on your plate, CB Owens? 

Meet CB Owens (MA ‘19). 

CB is a food writer, editor, and educator, freelancing for publications like Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure. For CB, every day is a little different and that’s exactly the way he likes it.

What’s on your plate, Yasmin Fahr? 

Meet Yasmin Fahr (MA ‘10). 

Yasmin is a cookbook author, recipe developer, and regular contributor to New York Times Cooking. Her work has also been featured on the Today Show and Food52, among other notable media outlets. She’s currently working on her third cookbook, but is always thinking about different ways to share her love of food and community. 

Check out her recipes and cookbooks, Boards and Spreads and Keeping it Simple!

What’s on your plate, Abby Katz? 

Meet Abby Katz (MA ‘22). 

Abby is a food studies scholar and PhD candidate. She’s interested in research that will inform equitable policy and help to protect young people. Beyond scholarly pursuits, she also hopes to be a mentor to others entering the college space. 

What’s on your plate, Amy Rothstein? 

Meet Amy Rothstein (MA ‘14). 

Amy is the founder of Dona Chai, a tea company based in Brooklyn. As a business owner and tea educator, she has countless responsibilities: product creation, branding, sales, managing a warehouse, and finances, to name a few.

More Alumni in Action

Helping Asian Americans Cook the Foods They Crave Most

The NYU Entrepreneurial Institute highlighted Rooted Fare, a startup co-founded by Food Studies alum Ashley Xie that partners and profit-shares with immigrant chefs to make Asian sauces for homemade dishes.

Growing Around the Globe: Alum Dharath “Tot” Hoonchamlong on Urban Farming in New York City and Thailand

Meet Tot (MA '19), the Environmental Manager of a Bo.lan – a sustainability-focused, Michelin-starred restaurant in Bangkok with an edible garden that reminds him of time spent on the NYU Urban Farm Lab as a graduate student.

Contemplating Climate Change Through Cuisine

Read NYU Alumni Magazine's profile of Allie Wist (MA '17), who is exploring the connections food has to other systems through her personal art.

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