TUNGKOL SA EPISODE NA ITO
From Fine Dining to Food Equity: Morgan Stewart and the Big Big Table
Renee welcomes Morgan Stewart to the podcast. Morgan is the Volunteer and Communications Manager at Big Big Table in Buffalo, New York. After becoming disillusioned with the for-profit restaurant world, Morgan found a different way forward at Big Big Table, an intimate 16-seat space on Buffalo's Lower West Side. The café serves about 30 guests daily, from working-class legacy residents to downtown professionals, creating what Morgan calls a vital "third space" where hospitality takes precedence over charity. At its core, this episode affirms that creating accessible spaces where people can gather, eat well, and be seen is not a band-aid but a necessary foundation for building healthier communities.
MORGAN STEWART
Since getting involved at Big Big Table Community Cafe (Buffalo, NY) in early 2023, Morgan Stewart has held many roles: volunteer, AmeriCorps service member, board member, and now, staff member. During her previous career as a restaurant chef, her interest shifted from cooking food to studying its social impact. After leaving the for-profit hospitality industry to study community development through the University at Buffalo's Urban & Regional Planning program, she earned her master's degree and began working for food-related nonprofits. As Big Big Table's Volunteer & Communications Manager, today she spends less time in the kitchen and instead focuses on administration and front-of-house operations at Western New York's first pay-as-you-can cafe. Her professional aim is to democratize the experience of dining out so that everyone has the opportunity to feel taken care of, even if just for a few minutes.
