The Food Stories Campaign brings Coler residents together to share memories of the meals and people that shaped them, gathering over coffee, fresh fruit, and pastries donated by local partners. More than 360 residents have participated, transforming these conversations into moments of connection, healing, and joy. At its core, Coler Food Stories is about restoring visibility to the lives, memories, and cultural histories of residents too often overlooked within long-term care systems. Through months of conversations, residents welcomed OPEN DOORS’s Kevin Nakagawa into their stories of family kitchens, backyard gardens, crowded dinner tables, and celebrations, revealing how deeply food carries identity, love, and connection across generations. Each resident’s story is transformed into a digital drawing that feeds a growing archive for resident-led advocacy. The exhibition honors these lived experiences not only as memories of the past, but as knowledge capable of shaping more humane, dignified forms of care in the present. With sustainability built into every step, the campaign is working to restore dignity, cultural relevance, and community to the food system at Coler.

As part of National Skilled Nursing Care Week, NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler and OPEN DOORS NYC co-hosted the Food Stories exhibition featuring storytelling from nursing home residents accompanied by large-scale visual works by artist and community organizer Kevin Nakagawa. Commissioner Nisha Agarwal from the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) and Executive Director Kate MacKenzie from the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy (MOFP) presented a citation to Open Doors from Mayor Zohran Mamdani to commemorate the work of OPEN DOORS.

The next phase will move Food Stories from a successful proof-of-concept into sustained food systems programming at Coler. This includes recurring Sunday Dinners, Lunch Hour resident kitchen programs, continued story collection, a Food Stories cookbook, fresh produce distribution through a developing GrowNYC partnership, garden expansion, therapeutic garden programming for dementia care, quarterly exhibitions, and longer-term planning for resident kitchen infrastructure.

Working in partnership with Coler's Administration, the first step in this expansion is Sunday Dinners, our new program inspired by what so many residents described as their most cherished memory. The program is based on residents’ own food memories and cultural traditions. Each dinner would bring residents as close as possible to the feeling of their family table through culturally meaningful food, music, storytelling, games, and gathering.

“Food helps us connect with one another, with our cultural heritage, and with our community. The Food Stories Exhibition uplifts the stories and dishes so beloved by Coler residents. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see the art in person and meet with some of the residents. With more than 70% of Coler residents being wheelchair users, accessibility cuts across so much of what makes Coler so special including access to culturally relevant foods that offer just a little taste of home.”

–Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities

“It was an honor to join skilled nurses, residents, and staff at NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler to celebrate their Food Stories Exhibition. Manhattan’s seniors, especially those residing within long-term care environments, deserve to live with dignity. I’m grateful to Kevin Nakagawa and the residents of Coler for contributing such impactful pieces of art, highlighting the intense connection between food, cultural continuity, and emotional wellbeing.”

–Miesha Smith, Manhattan Deputy Borough President