OUR STORY
OUR MISSION
Refettorio Harlem serves to be a place of connection, inclusion and activism, opening its doors to serve our vulnerable neighbors, steward a healthier more just food system and celebrate the cultural heritage and diversity around us. Through out the week our team rescues otherwise imperfect food from waste, transforming surplus ingredients into nourishing meals served with dignity to our food insecure and social isolated community. Our programs help alleviate hunger relief while connecting guests to supportive services and opportunities that improve wellbeing and livelihood. Each month we host a education, training and cultural programs open to the public that create awareness around our cause and raise support for our mission. We look forward to welcoming you.
OUR JOURNEY
After a 2 year impact study made possible through support of The Rockefeller Foundation, Food for Soul found a home for their first USA Refettorio project in late 2019 after a chance encounter with Reverend Dr. Kahli Mootoo of EMANUEL AME Church. The location, on historic 119th street block of central Harlem, would be housed in a 100+ year old historic building, once known as a central hub for civic engagement and community organizing in support of the civil rights movement, voting rights and women’s liberation. EMANUEL was know for opening its doors beyond the sanctuary to serve the community through weekly food pantries and meals. Overtime through the change and gentrification of Harlem’s neighborhoods, these programs became less and less. EMANUEL sought collaborative community driven partners who would work together to revive these essential community services. Food for Soul formed a partnership with EMANUEL, acting as site partner to begin transformation of the Church’s iconic grand community hall into Refettorio Harlem.
After two and half years of renovations during the pandemic, Refettorio Harlem is a vibrant community center, welcoming guests to connect, collaborate and commune together through shared culture, beauty and hospitality
CURATOR Atim Annette Oton is a Nigerian-born, American and British educated designer turned Curator. She is the co-owner of Calabar Imports, a 15 year old Brooklyn retail business, co-founder of Experience Africa and the founder of the Creative Side. She is the African Art Curator for AMREF Health Africa ARTBALL and Bronx:Africa. She founded Calabar Gallery in Harlem with extension spaces in Bed Stuy and Crown Heights.
SPACE
Earlier this Summer, Food for Soul completed renovations of the grand community hall at EMANUEL, allowing the Refettorio space to welcome those in need for a convivial multi-course menu of creatively prepared imperfect ingredients served at the table with dignity.
DESIGN
The project’s architectural design has been graciously supported by PorterFanna and Rosini Engineering; Landscape Design supported by Kimberly Von Koontz with garden by Kelco and Green Cityirrigation; interior creative design and materials supported by Gucci, Artemide, Heritage Tile, Eagle Tile, BetterTex, American Tin, Stern, Master Supplies and United Welding.
ART
Refettorio Harlem art curation includes: JR’s Giant Picnic, a photograph of the eyes of a Dreamer in the U.S.-Mexico border in Tecate, Mexico, on Oct. 8; Pane Metafisico, by Carlo Benvenuto, a second installation by the Artist following Refettorio Ambrosiano; Songs Flung to Heaven by Tyler Ballon, paying tribute to the Black Church as a place of comfort and strength; two works from Nigerian Artist Faustin Adeniran’s Society and Discarded Series, We Are What We Consume; and contemporary artist Alethea Brown, who brings to the Refettorio its first Harlem Resident Artist, in rotation, showcasing pieces from her AOA series. Artist Representation has been made possible and in collaboration with Food for Soul, Jeffery Deitch, Atim Annette Oton of Calabar Gallery and Harlem Frames.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
COLLABORATING PARTNERS
Food for Soul is a nonprofit organization founded by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore empowering local communities to cultivate a more just sustainable food system by saving food from waste and reducing barriers to food security and livelihood. Through advocacy and educational initiatives, they are giving consumers the tools to shift habits toward socially and environmentally responsible behaviors; while collaborating with local nonprofits to create Refettorio projects, community spaces with social kitchens, that recover and transform surplus and imperfect foods into nourishing meals for those most vulnerable alongside education and training programs.
Free Food Harlem is more than a meal program; it is a movement committed to the flourishing of individuals. For those who are in need, a variety of resources are provided; from three-course meals, clothes, and hair cuts to community and enriching courses. For those with excess in their lives there are meaningful opportunities to offer generosity and compassion, preparing a meal, donating clothes, serving food, or sharing a meal and conversation with those who have been unable to enjoy a respite moment at the table in many years. At Free Food Harlem, we help all people find connection and fill what is empty with warmth, opportunity, and dignity.
