Matt Jozwiak

In 2017, Matt Jozwiak founded Rethink Food, an NYC-based nonprofit with the mission to create a more sustainable and equitable food system by transforming excess food into nutritious meals for communities facing food insecurity. Since then, Rethink Food has provided over 22.9 million meals through its network of local restaurants, caterers, and food purveyors, and its in-house sustainable commissary kitchen

Prior to founding Rethink Food, Jozwiak completed his professional culinary training with Pierre Orsi in Lyon, France, and at Alinea in Chicago, and worked on the culinary teams of a number of notable restaurants around the world, including Auberge de L’ile Barbe in Lyon, Noma in Copenhagen, and Eleven Madison Park in New York—where he served as chef de partie at age 27.

Jozwiak is a member of the board of Rethink Food and also serves on the advisory board of The Sanitation Foundation.
Jozwiak has published various opinion pieces on food insecurity and distribution in publications such as the New York Daily News and frequently lectures on these issues at Cornell and Columbia Universities. He is also a consistent participant in food policy events.

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jozwiak currently resides in New York City.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I start every day with a walk – I walk to grab coffee with my dog and I think about what I really need to get done today and if it aligns with my goals for the week or month. I try to execute one meaningful action item every day. I also think a lot about my team, their stress and what needs to be done. I like to be as helpful as possible without getting in their way.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I tend to be a little over excited about certain things, so I run it all through a filter of my closest partners and friends. Once its cleared, I am big fan of just executing at a small scale. When it works, I will bring it to the team and we will try to scale it.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I have never been more excited about this space, I think the government working with small businesses could change the outlook for our city.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

Admitting when I am not productive helps me be productive. When I realize I am not getting anything done, I stop and go to the gym. Then come back with a renewed focus

What advice would you give your younger self?

Be careful who you allow in, I tend to be overly trusting. I would also tell my younger self to celebrate the wins when you can and not stress the hard stuff too much.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

These problems are not that complicated and often intentionally made complicated. The whole food food system could benefit from the simple idea of sharing. If everyone was ok with receiving shared food and giving shared food, we could all really benefit

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Exercise, eat well and sleep. The basics are so important.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I usually talk to my mom, my girlfriend or the chair of our board. They always have supported and guided me during stressful times. Additionally, disconnecting for a bit seems to help.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Always push for more, to do more, to take on more. I learned as a cook that you can always take on more even when it seems impossible.

What is one failure in your career,  how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

There are a lot, I think in the very early days I was not equipped to lead and grow a team of this scale, I thought too short term and not long term enough. Over the years I have realized you need to invest in people and grow with them, there never is a single silver bullet person that solves everything – you have to be present and engage.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Giving back with your company will only help grow your company.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

Calendar – I use it like a to-do list. I will focus on every key element I need to accomplish. We did that as cooks, but we called a time line. You need to schedule everything to be most efficient.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

Poverty by America by Mathew Desmond. It has really opened my eyes to the scope of the problem and sometimes how solutions can be more problematic than they seem.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

Ted Lasso – I love this coaching style and his mentorship style.