By Arianna Maysonave
January 29, 2026
"I’ve found that talking about food—our relationship to it, our cultural connections, our habits—is often a much more accessible and human entry point than talking about nutrients."
Established in 2013, FEAST promotes community health through nutritious foods and human connection. FEAST works at the intersection of food insecurity and health, addressing the physical, emotional, and mental toll that chronic stress, poor nutrition, and systemic inequities take on individuals and families. Guided by the principles of food, education, access, support, and together, their programs address the physical, emotional, and mental health issues experienced by food-insecure individuals and communities. Through tailored programs—including a wellness program for adults, family feeding for parents and caregivers of young children, and maternal health during pregnancy—FEAST supports families through every stage of life.
As FEAST’s co-executive director responsible for program and partnerships, Amy Vu advances the organization’s mission through strategic program development and fostering impactful partnerships. Amy is a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in public health from the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy. Growing up with immigrant parents, she learned at a very young age about the role food plays in connecting identity, community, and health. Prior to FEAST, she was a nutritionist at Harlem Children’s Zone, leading family-based obesity prevention programs through the Healthy Harlem initiative. During her Neighborhood 360 Fellowship program at NYC Small Business Services, she spearheaded a community listening session to develop placed-based programs in the new Essex Street Market’s demonstration kitchen.
To begin, how would you describe FEAST? What sets it apart from other wellness or food access programs?
Amy Vu (AV): FEAST is much more than a nutrition education program, it’s truly an invitation for transformation. While we do teach people about cooking nutritious meals on a budget and skills to read nutrition labels and make healthy food choices, we are also creating a space where people can reflect, connect, and reclaim agency over their own well-being.
What makes FEAST unique is our emphasis on peer support and social connection. We start every class session with deep breathing exercises to help regulate the nervous system, then we move into a check-in with a simple prompt: “How are you doing today?” FEAST programs are taught by health educators from the communities that we serve. They are trained to create safe, welcoming environments where participants can share their stories and lived experiences. This is where the magic happens. During the educational parts of class, we encourage lively discussions that honors the knowledge our participants already carry. Most people generally know what foods are included in a healthy eating pattern. Our focus is not only education, but how to translate knowledge into action.
During each four-month program, 15 individuals meet weekly for two hours. Many are dealing with chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease. They come to FEAST after trying everything else—diet programs, calorie counting, and more—and still feeling stuck. Our approach helps remove barriers, from access to fresh food to the emotional toll from living in poverty. We also provide families with gift cards and fresh food so they can try the recipes we teach in the classroom at home without using their own food budget.
How do you support participants in exploring the deeper roots of their relationship with food?
AV: Food, nutrition, and wellness are multilayered aspects of one’s life, often related to stress, emotional coping, cultural identity, and childhood memories. In many of the communities we serve—largely Black and Latinx neighborhoods in Los Angeles—people are managing daily stressors with little support. They’re also caregivers, often putting others’ needs ahead of their own. We realize that there are both external and internal roadblocks that can prevent someone from sustaining habit change, and together we acknowledge challenges, share ideas, and learn and grow together.
We provide a space to pause and reflect. At the beginning of each class, participants are invited to share how they’re doing. Sometimes that’s about health goals, but often it’s about the complexities of daily life: housing issues, parenting challenges, or grief. Around week four or five, people begin to open up more deeply, and that’s when real transformation begins. We share about family food traditions, emotional eating, and the stories we’ve internalized about health and self-worth. Participants are in groups of 15. Week after week, people listen to other stories and realize that they are not alone in their struggles. They hear how their neighbors navigate challenges and feel inspired that change is possible.
FEAST participants find healing in community by cooking, sharing, and learning together.
Can you share more about the role of facilitators—and how participants eventually become leaders themselves?
AV: That’s one of the most beautiful parts of FEAST. All our facilitators are graduates of the program. Many have not had formal education or job opportunities. For them, stepping into the role of educator is profoundly empowering. They’re teaching from lived experience, with humility and authenticity, and that deeply resonates with participants.
We’ve seen facilitators go back to school, get involved in parent councils at their children’s school, and become community leaders. It’s about building a sense of embodied self-worth. When you feel healthy and confident, you are able to dream beyond your own survival, envisioning a different future for yourself and future generations.
Tell us about your own background and what brought you to this work?
AV: My personal upbringing and cultural identity brought me to my work in food and health. I’m the youngest of five, raised by immigrant parents who worked long hours. Most of the time we ate processed foods—Hot Pockets and fast food meals—which made me feel sick and lethargic. On my mom’s day off, she’d make traditional dishes based on the tenets of Chinese medicine. Those meals were our love language; even as a child, I recognized that they were both nourishing and deeply rooted in cultural wisdom.
I studied to become a registered dietitian, but after working in clinical settings, I realized I wanted to work on the prevention side. I was drawn to public health and community nutrition. One of my first jobs was at the Harlem Children’s Zone, where I saw firsthand how changing the built environment and providing education could transform outcomes for families. I knew then I wanted to work at the intersection of health and equity on a community level.
I joined FEAST in 2018 as the director of programs after seeing the role online and reading about Judith, a graduate who became a facilitator and used food as a form of love and care. That story moved me, and the holistic, human-centered approach felt so different from traditional dietetics. In 2024, I stepped into the co-executive director role.
How does your role at FEAST differ from the more traditional nutrition space?
AV: In many ways, my path diverges from that of a traditional dietitian. Most registered dietitians work in clinical settings, but my role at FEAST allows me to help design curriculum that now reaches hundreds of families each year. A big part of my approach is helping people unlearn—unlearn diet culture, unlearn rigid ideals, unlearn the obsession that can develop when we hyperfixate on nutrition. I’ve found that talking about food—our relationship to it, our cultural connections, our habits—is often a much more accessible and human entry point than talking about nutrients. This is especially important given how often unhealthy relationships with food affect mental well-being, particularly for adolescents who may be navigating body dysmorphia or eating disorders.
My first sharing circle with FEAST was a turning point for me. Even as a registered dietitian, I hadn’t fully examined my own upbringing and past—like my relationship with my parents and how, as an adolescent, I used exercise to control my image. Even experts in nutrition and health have habits and belief systems that can be improved. This helped me cultivate more humility in my approach to program design. Joining FEAST to offer my expertise, I realized how much I still had to learn from the program’s shared-learning model. There’s tremendous value in sitting in a circle where everyone is learning together. When we, as “experts,” are willing to be vulnerable, we create trust—and that trust makes people more open to engaging with education and making meaningful changes.
What are the most inspiring transformations you’ve witnessed through FEAST?
AV: There are so many. We partner with community-based organizations across Los Angeles—from health clinics to family centers—to offer our programs. Some participants come because they’ve been referred by a doctor as a result of a specific health condition; others are simply looking for support.
We’ve seen participants lower their A1C and blood pressure for sure, but more than that, we see people gain confidence. They start speaking up in their communities, advocating for their children, or going back to school. They start to feel like they matter. The social component of our offerings really sets it apart, and is one of the reasons we have an 85 percent graduation rate from our four-month programs—people are invested not only in themselves, but in each other. This first immersion kickstarts the journey, but is really just the beginning. This newfound sense of agency can be applied to every aspect of an individual’s life.
Following graduation, one participant started a garden bed and began leading workshops on healing with plants. Others have discovered their voice for the first time, realizing they have something to teach others. The heart of this work is really empowering people to see themselves as capable and worthy of wellness.
Armed with a greater sense of agency and purpose, FEAST graduates go on to share their new skills and insights with others through community initiatives, personal relationships, and more.
You’ve mentioned that FEAST operates at the intersection of food access, health, and emotional well-being. How does that show up in your programming and advocacy work?
AV: This intersectional approach is both our strength and a challenge. When applying for grants or advocating for support, we often have to choose one category—hunger relief, health equity, or community development. FEAST really does all of this, seeking to connect the largely siloed fields of food systems, public health, and mental and emotional well-being into a more integrative dialogue around whole person wellness.
We provide food access through grocery stipends. We address chronic disease through education. We support mental health through community connection. And we’re building capacity by empowering community leaders. 75 percent of the population we serve is Hispanic/Latina, 12 percent is African American, and the rest is a mix of different ethnicities. Our programs serve specific communities—for example, we offer maternal nutrition for pregnant women and a child feeding series for caregivers with children under the age of five. We educate about ultra-processed food and the psychology of addiction to salt, sugar, and fat. We also teach about the social determinants of health and healthier ways to cope with the stressors of daily life.
We’ve been included in city-wide food policy reports under multiple categories. We’re also piloting a “food pharmacy” initiative, where providers can prescribe fruits and vegetables and track changes in clinical markers. It’s a powerful way to integrate food into health care.
Given the mental health crisis we’re facing, what role do you think programs like FEAST play in healing—both individually and collectively? What else needs to be done on a broader level?
AV: We help people feel seen, which is often the first step toward healing. Our culture often frames health as something individual and idealized, such as green juices and expensive wellness products. We want to break that down and say that health can look different for everyone. It can start with the foods you love, the stories you carry, and the support you need.
We’re also deeply disconnected—from each other, from nature, from ourselves. FEAST creates a small but powerful remedy for that. A place to connect, breathe, share, and be heard. That matters.
I think that on a broader level, city infrastructure needs to make green spaces more accessible and available. People need to have places to gather and feel connected to their local community. There need to be more conversations and exchanges about what’s really happening—the isolation that stems from the individualism of this moment, as well as the dependency on technology as the primary form of social connection, is truly making us unwell.
What gives you hope?
AV: Nature. The cycles of seasons. The deep knowing that after winter, there’s always spring. Learning how to hold boundaries and honor my body’s need for rest as a foundation of resilience.
Community, too. I’ve seen people who are often overlooked by society—undervalued, underresourced—stand up and lead with compassion and strength. I’ve been moved by participants who wrote letters to firefighters during the Los Angeles wildfires last January, how compassion can truly heal.
Everyone has the capacity to bring light to the world, and FEAST helps people remember their inherent goodness and worth.
This interview is part of the Nova Institute for Health’s Insight Collaborative for Mental Well-Being project. The Insight Collaborative is supported by a generous seed grant from the Mental Insight Foundation.
