Dr. Sarah Portnoy is a public speaker, documentary filmmaker, professor, and food justice activist. She teaches at the University of Southern California, where her courses on Latinx food culture and food justice engage students in the culinary traditions of Latinx communities in L.A. and beyond. Her work explores how food preserves Latinx cultural identity and community resilience.

Her book, Food, Health, and Culture in Latino Los Angeles (2016), examines Latine cuisine’s history and contemporary challenges, including food access in underserved neighborhoods. She has contributed to the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, KCET, and academic journals, addressing topics related to food justice, culture, and policy.

In 2022, she created and produced a documentary film and accompanying museum exhibition, Abuelita’s Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories, at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. Featuring ten grandmothers of Indigenous, mestiza, Mexican American, and Afro-Mexican backgrounds, the project highlights Mexican food as an expression of love and cultural transmission. She also created, co-directed and co-produced Abuelitas on the Borderlands, a National Endowment for the Humanities-funded documentary series on grandmothers in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.

Sarah has appeared on Good Morning America, Telemundo Noticiero, Spectrum News, KQED, and other media platforms. An advocate for food justice, she has supported street vending legalization, school and community gardens, and food security efforts. Each year, she leads a Maymester program in Oaxaca, where students are immersed in the region’s culinary, cultural, and ecological richness.

Website: www.sarahportnoy.com