Kelly Alexander, Ph.D.
Dr. Kelly Alexander is Assistant Professor of American Studies and the George B. Tindall Fellow in the Department of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research is in the field of critical food studies and concerns questions about food politics and ethics and food as material culture.
For many years she was a food journalist, notably at Saveur magazine, during which she won a James Beard Journalism Award. She has co-written a best-selling barbecue cookbook with World Champion Pitmaster Myron Mixon and published numerous articles on topics including the enduring allure of Fiestaware; the contemporary nostalgic appeal of futuristic images of food from the 1950s and 1960s; eco-feminist food waste policy interventions in the European Union; and historical legacies of the U.S.’s National School Lunch Program.
Her latest book, Truffles and Trash: Recirculating Food in a Social Welfare State, was published by UNC Press in October 2024. At NYBG, she will be conducting research using the LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s extensive collection of plant-based cookbooks, including more than 7,000 items.
