Voices at the Table was a two-year, multi-sector, community-engaged initiative launched in March 2023 with support from Tulane University’s Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking, led by Dr. Melissa Fuster. The project brought together city agencies, policy and advocacy groups, academic institutions, food producers, distributors, and restaurants to co-create incentive-based solutions that promote healthier and more environmentally sustainable food access with a focus on independently owned restaurants in New Orleans.
The project was guided by the recognition of restaurants as powerful influencers of how people eat, what they value in food, and how they connect with their culture. Restaurants are key institutions in community food systems with the potential to connect local and regional producers to consumers and changing social norms to increase the demand for healthier food options. Local farmers and producers, meanwhile, are essential to building resilient food systems and creating pathways to better nutrition. Yet despite their importance, these two groups are often disconnected in both policy and practice. Addressing this gap, Voices at the Table focused on building bridges—identifying the barriers that make collaborations difficult and co-developing solutions that align with health, sustainability, and community wellbeing.
At its core, Voices at the Table was about relationships: between chefs and growers, between residents and institutions, and between food and health. By working across sectors and centering community voices, the project aimed to strengthen local food systems in ways that were equitable, sustainable, and culturally grounded. From March 2023 to December 2025, we hosted seven workshops, engaging a variety of stakeholders from multiple organizations across the New Orleans metro area.
