Beyond the Melting Pot: Reclaiming Food Culture

Description:

Food is a social and cultural experience. But as a planet in motion, what are the effects of immigration on cultural food identity? With the current political rhetoric on diversity growing more complicated, and often limited access to international cuisine concepts outside of America’s largest cities, how can food identity help preserve and drive cultural education and community? What if there were a way to bring different backgrounds to the table and bridge the gap between cultures within a vibrant community hub? This panel will discuss adaptive reuse in suburbia, which estimates that 25% of malls will have closed by 2020. There is an opportunity in the emptiness: the new American food hall is a social experiment that celebrates cuisines from around the world here on American soil.