Coffee Talk: La Prima Coffee and ChathamU

You start your morning with coffee. We started our Master of Food Studies program with it. Since the inception of Chatham’s Food Studies program, students have been visiting La Prima Espresso Company, housed in Pittsburgh’s iconic Strip District. “If you want to understand how the food system works, you have to get out there and see it,” says Alice Julier, Food Studies Program Director. By seeing first-hand the way a local company like La Prima sources, sells, and markets its product, Chatham MAFS students gain the kind of hands-on, experiential understanding of their field that marks our Food Studies program as truly unique.

In 2010, MAFS students worked with La Prima to develop the Eden Hall Blend, a Fair Trade, certified Organic blend available for order at Café Rachel. Today, La Prima continues to generously provides support for scholarships for student research and travel through its Rachel Carson Blend.

Chatham's M.A. in Food Studies in the Falk School of Sustainability & Environment emphasizes a holistic approach to food systems, from agriculture and food production to cuisines and consumption, providing intellectual and practical experience from field to table. For more information on the program including concentrations of study, experiential learning, and student outcomes, please visit this page.