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By Megan Volpert

Welcome to the interview series where I discuss food with citizens of Atlanta who are prominent for non-food-related reasons. For this installment, I spoke to Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA, the humanitarian aid and international development nonprofit. The daughter of Senator Sam Nunn, she was the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014.

How do you like your eggs cooked?

► Scrambled with a lot of cheese.

What are your two favorite things to put in mac and cheese, other than the mac and the cheese?

► I hate to be boring, but I just like straight up mac and cheese. I can be talked into bacon.

What are some of your favorite spots for brunch?

► Thumbs Up and Highland Bakery.

The CARE USA headquarters is located in Downtown, near Centennial Olympic Park. What’s the best place to walk to for a meal?

► Sweet Auburn Curb Market.

You’ve traveled far and wide on behalf of your work with CARE. What are your favorite foreign cities for great food?

► Bangkok and typically wherever I last travelled. Most recently, Kabul, where the grapes and bread were amazing.

Are you any good at gardening?

► Not at all, but I like to eat my 14 year old’s home-grown tomatoes.

Wine and beer, or the hard stuff, or none at all?

► Sadly for my husband [Ron Martin, Jr.] who would like an occasional margarita companion, I am a teetotaler.

What is your guilty pleasure snack food? Favorite food for a tailgate?

► Jenni’s Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream. Guacamole and chips for the tailgate.

What are your feelings about red velvet cake?

► I would never turn it down, but I am more for classic chocolate cake.

Is there any food so disgusting to you that you just won’t eat it?

► I prefer to not knowingly eat intestines, brains and such.

Who does most of the cooking in your house? Who cooked while you were growing up?

► My husband does the cooking or often the takeout. My 12-year-old daughter is the baker in our family. My mom was the cook in our house growing up.

Alongside disaster relief, education and economic development, part of CARE’s mission focuses directly on child nutrition and agriculture. What factors should people consider if they want to help end world hunger?

► First, it is important that although many of us enjoy abundant food options, there are millions of people who go hungry every day. After a prolonged decline in hunger rates, a new United Nations report found that global hunger increased last year and now affects more than 815 million people. This increase is due, in part, to climate change and conflict and unfortunately comes at a time when some are calling for deep, unprecedented cuts to foreign assistance.

Second, people should know that there are concrete ways we can overcome hunger and that women are key and need to be at the center of our response. We can both feed the world and help overcome poverty if we lift up female farmers. Research shows that if women farmers had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-39 percent, and the number of hungry people in the world could be reduced by 100-150 million. This is the vital work that CARE is leading around the world and from right here in Atlanta.

Quick Bites

The historic home known as The Castle and Fort Peace perched at the corner of 15th and Peachtree in Midtown is being transformed yet again – this time into a restaurant and bar called Rose + Rye. The three-level dining and drinking space with multiple patios and private event rooms features a menus of “refined American fare with a global reach.” Some of the dishes include: “Caesar with smoked yogurt-parm dressing, tile cookie crumble and soft boiled beet soaked egg; Snapper with wheatberries, celery root puree and wild cherry redux, and Glazed Pork Belly with gnocchi and apple slaw.” Inside The Castle, the first floor of the space known as “The Grotto,” with its dramatic floorto-ceiling rock wall, will be the backdrop for a new bar. The second floor will feature the dining room, open kitchen and another large bar. There are also three private dining rooms and patios with views overlooking the Woodruff Arts Center and Midtown. Rose + Rye will be open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 5 to 10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 11 p.m. It will begin opening for lunch on Nov. 20 and weekend brunch is coming in January. Find out more at facebook.com/roseandryeATL.

Peachtree Center has announced five new eateries as part of a project to renovate and modernize the retail center that serves the complex’s six office towers and multiple connecting hotels. Salata, Bep Eatery, Southern Candy Company, Taste of India and Beni’s Cubano will join the restaurant line-up. The restaurants will open on a rolling schedule beginning later this year and into early 2018, as work continues to progress on transforming the retail center into The Hub.

Allora is now open in TWELVE Hotel Midtown under the direction of Executive Chef Chris Maher. The Italian restaurant offers house made pastas, specialty pizzas, creative insalatas, small plates and more. For more information, visit, alloraatl.com.

Genuine Pizza will open its first Atlanta location at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead this December. The casual pizza restaurant will offer quick-fired pizza, soups, salads and entrées. For more information, visit genuinepizza.com.

Peachtree Road Farmers Market recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary with a celebration at The Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Some of Atlanta’s best chefs were on hand for the event, which raised over $8,000 to support the market's vision of providing and growing community around local farmers and food.

Golden Eagle and Muchacho are now open in the historic train depot at 904 Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown. Golden Eagle serves up cocktails and “throwback continental classics” like garlic knots, crab Rangoon and tavern steak, while Muchacho as a 70’s Southern California vibe and offers breakfast and lunch tacos, toasts, grain bowls, poke, pastries, coffee and drinks. Visit goldeneagleatl.com for more information.

The Atlanta Fall Wine Fest will be held Nov. 11 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Historic Fourth Ward Park, 665 North Ave. There will be more than 100 wines as well as a selection of beer and cider to choose from. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 at the gate. Go to atlantawinefestivals.com/fall to learn more.

Batter Cookie Dough Counter, an edible cookie dough dessert shop, will open later this fall at Ponce City Market. Visit battercookiedough. com for more information.