NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Brazilian-born chef and social entrepreneur David Hertz, who pioneered a model for using food to improve the lives of low-income people, is the 2019 recipient of The Charles Bronfman Prize. Hertz co-founded Gastromotiva in 2006, a Brazilian-based socio-gastronomic organization that fights unemployment and social inequality and uses food waste to "create opportunities for those living on the margins of society."
The Charles Bronfman Prize is an annual award of $100,000 to a humanitarian under fifty whose innovative work, informed by Jewish values, has significantly improved the world. It was founded by Ellen Bronfman Hauptman and Stephen Bronfman with their spouses, Andrew Hauptman and Claudine Blondin Bronfman, to honor their father on his 70th birthday.
"We are privileged to honor David to help amplify his important work," said Ellen Bronfman Hauptman. "He takes his place among the exceptional Prize laureates who have tackled key problems with transformative solutions."
Hertz's experience in a kibbutz kitchen as an 18 year-old started a journey that inspired him to develop projects to help youth and the vulnerable.
"It's a tremendous honor to receive The Charles Bronfman Prize," Hertz exclaimed. "I feel responsible to represent social entrepreneurs promoting Jewish values beyond our community, increasing knowledge about how food and social gastronomy address the pressing issues of our planet and transcend geography, class, background and religion."
Hertz's work addresses a critical need. "While a third of food is wasted," he notes, "we have one billion people living with chronic hunger and 200 million unemployed workers around the globe." Gastromotiva offers a solution: "free vocational kitchen training, entrepreneurial and nutrition classes across Brazil, El Salvador, South Africa and Mexico, and we are expanding."
During the 2016 Olympics, Hertz opened Refettorio Gastromotiva with chef Massimo Botura and journalist Alexandra Forbes, in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro. This no-food-waste cooking school/restaurant teaches low-income students how to prepare "delicious, healthy meals from food surplus otherwise going to waste," and serves them to vulnerable, often homeless populations, "in a welcoming space that encourages companionship."
His nominator, Devry Boughner Vorwerk, fellow Young Global Leader and former Cargill vice president, wrote: "David has taken something that could remain a small, community effort and connected that to a global movement."
"I am so pleased the judges chose David Hertz," Charles Bronfman declared. "His innovations in eliminating hunger while promoting dignity have a global impact."
Contact: Martin Irom, martinirom@gmail.com
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