Museum of Food and Drink

Museum in New York City, New York, U.S.

MOFAD Lab in Williamsburg

The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) is a New York City educational non-profit and museum that seeks to change the way people think about food and drink. The museum's work explores "the ways food and beverage impact our culture, politics, economy, history, and more.[1]"[2]

## History

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Dave Arnold founded and chartered the museum in 2005, but it remained an idea until 2011.[3] In 2013, Arnold and museum Executive Director Peter Kim raised over $100,000 through a Kickstarter campaign for the museum's first exhibition.[4]

The first exhibit, which debuted in New York in August 2013, was the result of the campaign: a 3,200 pound puffing machine, also called a puff gun. The puffing machine is part of a cereal-focused traveling exhibit.[5][6]

In 2015, the museum gained the support of its first major sponsor, Infiniti, which helped fund a space for their first series of exhibitions.[7][8] That space became known as MOFAD Lab, a 5,000-square-foot gallery space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic caused a shutdown of museums in New York City, including the MOFAD Lab, MOFAD announced a new exhibition entitled African/American: Making the Nation's Table, exhibited at the Africa Center's Aliko Dangote Hall in Harlem, NYC.[9][10] The museum held a series of public programs during the shutdown, and the exhibit ultimately opened in February 2022 and included the Ebony Test Kitchen.[11][12][13][14]

In February 2024, MOFAD opened its doors to the public once more at its new location in the Empire Stores building in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. MOFAD's inaugural exhibit, Flavor: The World to your Brain,is an interactive sensory exhibition exploring the many aspects of how people experience flavor, a look at the flavor industry, and an examination of what natural and artificial flavor really mean.

## Gallery

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* Chow, an exhibit at MOFAD Lab in 2018

* Tasting bar

* Guests at the exhibit

## References

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1. ^ Fabricant, Florence (7 September 2020). "Policy on the Menu at the Museum of Food and Drink". New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
2. ^ Shunk, Laura. "MOFAD Executive Director Peter Kim: "We Encourage Self-Directed Exploration of Food"". Retrieved 30 October 2013.
3. ^ Rudess, Ari. "Details on the Museum of Food and Drink with Dave Arnold and Peter Kim". Retrieved 30 October 2013.
4. ^ "Boom! Museum of Food and Drink's Explosive First Exhibit". Retrieved 30 October 2013.
5. ^ Polis, Carey (1 July 2013). "Museum Of Food & Drink Launches Kickstarter Campaign For First Exhibit". Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
6. ^ Hancock, Alexander (July 2013). "Dave Arnold Kickstarting Food Museum's Cereal Exhibit". Retrieved 30 October 2013.
7. ^ "Infiniti Celebrates Foodie Culture with MOFAD". Infiniti. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
8. ^ Danovich, Tove (September 11, 2015). "A Food Museum Grows In Brooklyn". NPR. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
9. ^ "MOFAD and The Africa Center Presents Virtual Museum Mile: Live with Jessica B. Harris and Pierre Thiam". Museum of Food and Drink. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
10. ^ Groushevaia, Irina (5 November 2019). "Local Museum Curates The Nation's First Exhibit Celebrating Black Culinary History". Bklyner. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
11. ^ Hutcherson, Aaron. "This breathtaking quilt depicts Black people's impact on American food, 406 times over". Retrieved 2022-03-24.
12. ^ Lane, Hannah (2021-03-11). "Amid a Pandemic, MOFAD Is Mapping A Nation's Table". Retrieved 2022-03-24.
13. ^ "Comprehensive African-American food exhibit to open in Harlem". 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
14. ^ Stewart, Kayla (2022-02-19). "The Ebony Test Kitchen, Where Black Cuisine Was Celebrated, Is Reborn". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-24.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Museum of Food and Drink.

* Official website

40°43′08″N 73°56′59″W﻿ / ﻿40.718934°N 73.949604°W﻿ / 40.718934; -73.949604