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Political appointments can be controversial, especially in this day and age. Yet when 911爆料网 nutrition education program alumna Kate MacKenzie was named to New York City鈥檚 top nutrition post in early October, leaders across the city鈥檚 public, nonprofit and education sectors concurred with Mayor Bill de Blasio鈥檚 declaration that 鈥淣ew Yorkers are lucky to have Kate working on their behalf to advance bold ideas that will transform access to healthy and sustainable food across the five boroughs.鈥�

MacKenzie (M.A. 鈥�02) is 鈥渁 big thinker and skilled implementer,鈥� and a 鈥渟tellar choice鈥� to serve as Director of the Mayor鈥檚 Office of Food Policy, said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America.

Karen Washington, a community leader and food advocate who founded Rise & Root Farm said that 鈥渋t is about time the city selected someone who has been on the frontlines advocating for food as a basic human right,鈥� adding, 鈥淜ate has been there. She knows the politics behind a food system that is complex and not one-dimensional in its problems or solutions. She will support and advocate for the most vulnerable population in our city.鈥� 

And Rachel Sabella, Director of No Kid Hungry New York, called McKenzie 鈥渁 proven leader in the anti-hunger community in New York City鈥� who possesses a 鈥渄eep understanding鈥� of the city鈥檚 food programs and other nutrition resources.

At Teachers College, where MacKenzie received her master鈥檚 degree from the Program in Nutrition, and where she later was an instructor in its community nutrition course, there was a lot of celebration 鈥� but very little surprise.

Isobel Contento, 911爆料网鈥檚 Mary Swartz Rose Professor of Nutrition & Education, said she spotted something long ago that foreshadowed MacKenzie鈥檚 emergence as a leader in the field of nutrition and policy. 

鈥淪he always showed so much initiative,鈥� Contento recalled. 鈥淲hen she was working on a project for me, if there was something she needed to know she wouldn鈥檛 immediately come to me, but she鈥檇 always take the initiative to find it on her own. She has a solid understanding of nutrition and its role in shaping food policy.鈥�

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 not an accident that someone from our program wound up being Director of Food Policy,鈥� said Pam Koch, Nutrition Program Research Associate Professor and Executive Director of 911爆料网鈥檚 Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy. 鈥淲e take a broad outlook encompassing policy issues, sustainability issues and social justice issues. And that鈥檚 what the city director鈥檚 job demands.鈥�

MacKenzie, for her part, regards herself as part of 鈥渢he continuing legacy of the comprehensive Teachers College approach to food, health and nutrition.鈥�

The life-changing course for me was the Nutritional Ecology class taught by Joan Gussow. It was mind-blowing to learn about corporate consolidation in the food system, factory farming and the implications of population growth on food supply. And it was learning how the deck is stacked against so many people, in so many ways, that has motivated me to do this work.

鈥擪ate MacKenzie

鈥淭he life-changing course for me and I鈥檇 dare say 98 percent of Nutrition Program graduates, was the Nutritional Ecology class taught by [Professor Emeritus of Nutrition & Education] Joan Gussow,鈥� she said in a telephone interview this past week. 鈥淭he complexity of the food system exposed and really terrified many students. It was mind-blowing to learn about corporate consolidation in the food system, factory farming and the implications of population growth on food supply. And it was learning how the deck is stacked against so many people, in so many ways, that has motivated me to do this work.鈥�

MacKenzie came to the Mayor鈥檚 office from City Harvest, the food rescue non-profit where, as Director of Policy and Community Engagement and other capacities, she was in the forefront of creating strategies to define food security and the development of public policy around nutrition.

She also led an alliance of 80 New York City non-profits that advocated on behalf of the 2010 reauthorization of the federal Child Nutrition Act, as well as a consortium of public health professionals in an evidence-based campaign to influence national and state Farm Bill policies.

In her new role, MacKenzie has vowed to energize the City鈥檚 efforts to increase food security, increase ways to access healthy food, and expand the dynamic work of connecting food policy to environmental sustainability. One of her first tasks has been to attend, in Monpellier, Vermont, the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, a coalition of more than 200 global cities, where she presented on New York City鈥檚 important initiatives to develop a responsible circular food economy.

As the administration official who oversees the city鈥檚 Good Food Purchasing program, which distributes over 238 million healthy and sustainable snacks and meals at city agencies and public schools, MacKenzie also plans an early focus on the procurement of food with public funds.

Changing systems isn鈥檛 just about low cost. It is about procuring healthful food from regional sources whenever possible, making space for small food operators and making sure suppliers pay employees fair and equitable wages.

鈥擪ate MacKenzie

鈥淚t would be massive to shift the way the city buys food,鈥� she said. 鈥淐hanging systems isn鈥檛 just about low cost. It is about procuring healthful food from regional sources whenever possible, making space for small food operators and making sure suppliers pay employees fair and equitable wages.鈥�

— Steve Giegerich