Montclair Local: Don Discusses Nourishing Community at Film Festival

In November 2022, the Montclair Local profiled Don’s conversation with noted celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. The two discussed Samuelsson’s latest Audible Original, Seat at the Table, the duo’s collaboration with Newark Working Kitchens, and how food and storytelling can help build a community.

Throughout the evening, Samuelsson and Katz spoke about the work they’re doing to amplify minority voices in their communities, particularly in Newark.

During the pandemic, the two put their teams together to create Newark Working Kitchens. The organization was started in April 2020 and worked to support not only residents in Newark but also the locally owned restaurants. Newark Working Kitchens provided money for the restaurants to continue to pay their employees while also providing meals for the community. As of this month, Newark Working Kitchens has provided 1.5 million meals. 

Samuelsson and Katz wanted to remind the audience in Montclair why it’s important to uplift those communities.

“It is all worth knowing that we live in, by most measures, the most unequal state in the country,” Katz said.

Read the full article here, and watch Don and Marcus’s full talk in the video above.