Dinners of Hope
I recently took a trip down memory lane. I was preparing to facilitate a dinner on Comfort and realized that the last time I held a dinner with this theme was the very first Dinner & Dialogue in April 2018.
Digging through my gmail archives, I was struck by the kind and enthusiastic responses I received from that first invite. And when I clicked on the initial sign-up sheet, I was reminded of the brave souls who came that evening and some of the delicious dishes we ate together.
One of the main challenges leading up to that first night was that I did not have a big enough table. Fortunately my sister, on the day of the dinner, decided to take matters into her own hands. She stopped by Home Depot, purchased a door and proceeded to walk back to our apartment with it. With some bungee cords, tablecloths and luck we managed to make it look mostly like a table.
When the guests arrived that evening, my kitchen came alive with people heating up their dishes, getting a drink and introducing themselves. Once everyone had loaded up their plates and were settled around the (door) table, I asked the first question. People then shared their story about the comfort food they brought, as we ate them together. The night continued with a few more rounds of questions, fascinating answers and a lot of listening, nodding and laughing. To me it felt like magic. Never before had I taken something so completely from within myself and tried it out with others.
Looking back on this evening reminded me of how special Dinner & Dialogue initially felt and how much time I have put into it. I have always wanted this project to be community-based and open to anyone, but the most sustainable way forward has not always been clear.
Recently, I decided to try out another experiment. I offered a version of the model to local organizations leading up to the election. So far, this has led to a series of dinners at The Honest Weight Food Co-op called Dinners of Hope and a dinner for the Red and Blue leaning members of Braver Angels of the Capital Region of New York.
Facilitating conversations over shared meals with initial strangers at the Co-op and with a bi-partisan group in a local church hall, has felt timely and powerful. And it has restored my faith that this next chapter of the project, though very different from that first night in Brooklyn, still has value.
We are at an important moment where we can choose to let fear divide us or allow hope to bring us together. We must seize this time to gather together to have meaningful and respectful dialogue about the issues that most affect our lives.
The next Dinner of Hope at The Honest Weight Food Co-op is on October 24th at 6pm.
The theme for this dinner is: Fear
You can check out more information here
If you're interested in planning an event like this in your community, please get in touch.
Take care of yourself and others out there.