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THE MUSEUM OF FOOD AND DRINK
BROOKLYN, NY · EIN 203735162 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE A50 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Small ($100K-$1M) · mofad.org
revenue
$822K
expenses
$695K
net assets
$125K
employees
11
volunteers
6
program ratio
58%
mission · from form 990

MOFAD BRINGS THE WORLD OF FOOD TO LIFE WITH EXHIBITS YOU CAN TASTE, TOUCH AND SMELL. WE INSPIRE CURIOSITY ABOUT FOOD, WHAT IT MEANS AND HOW IT CONNECTS WITH THE WORLD AROUND US.

profile · synthesized from sources

The Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) is a cultural institution dedicated to exploring food as a lens for understanding history, identity, and society. Through immersive, multisensory exhibitions that visitors can taste, touch, and smell, MOFAD educates the public about food's cultural and scientific dimensions. Based in Brooklyn, NY, it serves as a global educational resource for audiences of all ages.

named programs · 7 · from sources

What they call their work

African/American: Making the Nation's Table
Exhibition highlighting the 400-year impact of African Americans on American food culture through artifacts, kitchens, and personal stories.
BOOM! The Puffing Gun and the Rise of Cereal
Mobile educational experience featuring a functioning puffing gun that demonstrates the history and science behind breakfast cereals.
Chow: Making the Chinese American Restaurant
Exhibition tracing the nearly 170-year history of Chinese American restaurants and their role in shaping food culture and immigration narratives.
Flavor: The World to Your Brain
An immersive exhibition exploring how flavor is processed in the brain, featuring interactive stations like the Smell Synth and Brain Bloom machine to demonstrate sensory science.
Nights of the Raj
Immersive after-hours exhibition and dining experience exploring the stories of South Asian migrants who brought curry to New York City restaurants.
Street Food City
Exhibition celebrating New York City’s immigrant street food entrepreneurs and their contributions to the city's culinary landscape.
The Legacy Quilt
A 14-by-30-foot installation honoring African American food and drink producers, recognizing their foundational role in American cuisine.
activities · 6 groups

What they do

  • Digital Visitor Engagement via Mobile App 1 activity
    • Creating digital and mobile educational resources
      Offers a mobile guide through the Bloomberg Connects app for virtual exploration of current and past exhibitions, and provides access to recorded programs—including MOFAD Talks, The Takeout, and MOFAD City—via its YouTube channel.
  • Curated Art Exhibitions and Public Displays 1 activity
    • Developing and presenting special exhibitions and public programs
      Creates and hosts special exhibitions and program series, including co-presented photography exhibitions and public talks, demonstrations, and events. Examples include an award-winning food photography exhibition on global street food culture displayed at Empire Stores from December 2025 to January 2026 and the "Feasts and Festivals" program series.
  • Local History Museum Operations 1 activity
    • Operating interactive museum exhibitions on food and drink
      Operates a museum space with public access on the 2nd floor of Empire Stores in Brooklyn, featuring interactive exhibits that engage the senses of taste, touch, and smell to explore food and drink as a cultural and scientific force. Exhibitions include "Street Food City," "Feasts and Festivals," and explorations of flavor science and perception.
  • Youth and Family Cooking Education 1 activity
    • Operating mobile and sensory-based food education experiences
      Converted a functioning, custom-made puffing gun into a mobile food education experience and operates small sensory-based exhibitions designed for student engagement with food cultures.
  • Educational Field Trips and Experiential Outings 1 activity
    • Providing educational programs for K-12 students
      Offers guided tours and workshops for K-12 students using age-appropriate curricula focused on the food system, and has educated over 500 local schools through its programming.
  • Uncategorized 1 activity
    • Producing and commissioning original educational artworks and installations
      Commissioned and produced original educational artworks, including The Legacy Quilt—a 14-foot-tall, nearly 30-foot-wide handmade quilt with 406 blocks honoring African American contributions to American cuisine—for the 2022 exhibition African/American: Making the Nation's Table, with biographical research conducted by writer Osayi Endolyn.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$822K
Contributions & grants$621K75%
Program service revenue$129K16%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$73K
expenses
Total expenses$695K
Program expenses58%
Admin / overhead21%
Fundraising21%
Salaries & benefits$371K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$557K
Cash$171K
Investments$0
Liabilities$432K
Net assets$125K
Liquid reserves3.0 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +141.1%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

paid leadership · 1
NameTitleHours/wkCompensation
NAZLI PARVIZI PRESIDENT 35 $120K
board members · 6
  • DAVE ARNOLD — TRUSTEE
  • FICUS KIRKPATRICK — TRUSTEE
  • HANNAH BRONFMAN — TRUSTEE
  • JESSAMYN WALDMAN RODRIGUEZ — TRUSTEE
  • JULIAN YAP — CHAIR
  • SUDIP MUKHERJEE — TRUSTEE
relationships · 31

Who they work with

  • Alan Richardson Partner — Collaborated on a video inspired by the award-winning cookbook The Breath of a Wok, co-authored with Grace Young.
  • Anson Mills Partner — Partners with Anson Mills through founder Glenn Roberts, who serves on the African/American exhibition advisory committee.
  • Bimi® Partner — Sponsored the World Food Photography Awards exhibition co-curated with MOFAD.
  • Bimi® Partner — Sponsoring partner of the World Food Photography Awards, involved in the joint exhibition with MOFAD.
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies Funder — Funded the Flavor exhibition
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies Partner — Partnered to make the Bloomberg Connects mobile guide for MOFAD's exhibitions possible.
  • Bridgeman Charitable Group Funder — Provided financial support to MOFAD.
  • Brooklyn Brewery Partner — Collaborates with Brooklyn Brewery through Brewmaster Garrett Oliver, who serves on the African/American exhibition advisory committee.
  • Brooklyn Bridge Park Partner — Supported the Flavor exhibition
  • Carolina Gold Rice Foundation Partner — Collaborates with the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation through president Glenn Roberts, who serves on the African/American exhibition advisory committee.
  • Community Roots Charter School Partner — Collaborates with the school to connect donors with families losing SNAP benefits through a grocery gift card initiative.
  • Glen Whitney Partner — Supported the Flavor exhibition
  • Goya Partner — Supported the Flavor exhibition
  • Grace Young Partner — Collaborated on a video inspired by her award-winning cookbook The Breath of a Wok.
  • Harlem Needle Arts Partner — Collaborated with MOFAD to create the Legacy Quilt for the African/American: Making the Nation's Table exhibition.
  • James Beard Foundation Partner — Collaborates with the James Beard Foundation through Colleen Vincent, Director of Culinary Community Initiatives, who serves on the African/American exhibition advisory committee.
  • James Hemings Society Partner — Partners with the James Hemings Society through co-founder Tonya Hopkins, who serves on the African/American exhibition advisory committee.
  • Kitchings Family Foundation Funder — Provided financial support to MOFAD.
  • MOFAD’s Board of Directors Government — Provided financial and governance support to MOFAD.
  • Maison Noir wines Partner — Partners with Maison Noir wines through owner André Mack, who serves on the African/American exhibition advisory committee.
  • Midtown Equities Partner — Supported the Flavor exhibition
  • New York State Council on the Arts Funder — Provides support for MOFAD's curricula and education staff.
  • Pinkerton Foundation Funder — Provided financial support to MOFAD.
  • SAVEUR Partner — Provided archival photographs for the Feasts and Festivals exhibition.
  • Solid Starts Funder — Provided financial support to MOFAD.
  • Stairway Fund Funder — Provided financial support to MOFAD.
  • TimeOut Market Partner — Co-located with TimeOut Market in the Empire Stores building, indicating a spatial and potentially collaborative relationship.
  • Viacom Funder — Provided financial support to MOFAD.
  • World Food Photography Awards Partner — Co-curated a photo exhibition with MOFAD to complement the Street Food City exhibition.
  • World Food Photography Awards Partner — Collaborated to present an exhibition of street food photography in New York.
+ 1 more
strategies · 3

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Digital Extension of Educational Reach
    methodology: digital_access
    By providing digital access to recorded programs and multimedia content, we produce sustained public engagement beyond physical exhibitions, because ongoing access increases equity, scalability, and longevity of educational impact.
  • Experiential, Multi-Sensory Education Through Food
    methodology: experiential_education
    By using multi-sensory, interactive exhibits and immersive storytelling, we produce deeper public understanding of food’s cultural, historical, and scientific dimensions, because sensory and emotional engagement fosters curiosity and retention more effectively than passive learning.
  • Food as a Cultural Lens for Social Understanding
    methodology: food-as-culture
    By framing food as a cultural and historical medium, we produce greater public awareness of human interconnectedness and social justice issues, because food is a relatable, universal experience that reveals deeper narratives about identity, equity, and tradition.