2019 Prize Laureate
David Hertz
Gastromotiva, Co-Founder + President
“Feeding the hungry and creating community are core Jewish values involving both humility and compassion which create the foundation of Social Gastronomy. Food has the power to nourish our bodies and our souls, it is our identity, tradition and beliefs. Food is a strong tool to create bridges and breakdown barriers, inspire moments of connection and trust, building empowerment and opportunities for people who yet don’t fit into our society. People who cook together, stay together and the kitchen is the innovative lab that can change the world.”
David Hertz is a Brazilian-born chef and social entrepreneur who uses food to build community, end waste and hunger, and empower the most vulnerable. As co-founder of Gastromotiva in 2006, Hertz created a transformative model that addresses a critical paradox: while one in nine people—nearly 800 million worldwide—suffer from chronic undernourishment according to the World Food Programme, one-third of all food produced globally is wasted. This wasted food not only represents a humanitarian crisis but also an environmental one, as rotting food in landfills produces methane, contributing to 8-10% of global emissions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Through kitchen vocational training, nutritional education, business incubation, and compassionate cooking, Gastromotiva transforms lives. The organization's flagship Refettorio Gastromotiva in Rio de Janeiro, co-founded with chef Massimo Bottura and journalist Ale Forbes, is a state-of-the-art no-food-waste cooking school and restaurant that exemplifies this mission.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hertz transformed the Refettorio into a food bank, migrated classes online, and launched Solidarity Kitchens—a network where Gastromotiva students and alumni use their own kitchens to prepare meals for the vulnerable. These kitchens served over 5 million meals throughout Brazil and Mexico, becoming development networks in poor neighborhoods. Hertz is co-founder of the Social Gastronomy Movement, which cultivates connections and partnerships to co-create an equitable future, inclusive society, and healthy planet. An Ashoka Fellow, TED Senior Fellow, and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, Hertz has been honored with the Schwab Foundation's Social Entrepreneur of the Future Award, GQ Man of the Year, and numerous other recognitions. Looking ahead, Hertz and Gastromotiva focus on scaling locally rooted solutions into adaptable, replicable global models centered on community leadership, transforming grassroots practices into systemic change.
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