Community Initiatives

Global Culinary Initiative

The LDEI Global Culinary Initiative is a chapter-led program that embraces diversity through the lens of food – the thread that connects cultures, lifestyles and traditions. Chapters that opt to participate in the Global Culinary Initiative tap into the diverse cultures in their own communities with educational programming and events that celebrate various cultures through their culinary traditions.

Green Tables

The LDEI Green Tables Initiative is a chapter-led program that was created to deepen the relationship between locally grown food at farms and gardens with school and community-food programs, restaurants and kitchen tables. Chapters that participate in Green Tables offer programs and events that unite communities with fresh, sustainable foods and foodways through cooking classes, demonstrations, tastings, community-gardening projects, farmers’ market programming and more.

Southern Food and Beverage Museum Culinary Library

The LDEI Collection is part of the Boyd Culinary and Hospitality Library of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum. It’s an important assembly of cookbooks, articles and other culinary works contributed by Dames and made available to students in the culinary and hospitality programs of multiple university programs including that of Tulane University. The Library and LDEI Collection are housed at the Nunez Community College Library in Chalmette, LA, just outside New Orleans. For more information, contact Dame Liz Williams at liz@southernfood.org