Reasoning & Evidence
All of us have to regularly eat food, and yet many of us are doing so alone. In 2023, nearly 25% of Americans reported eating all of their meals alone the previous day, representing a 53% increase from 2003.(51) The act of eating together creates a platform for storytelling and laughter, deepening social bonds.(52) The social benefits extend beyond a shared meal itself, fostering a sense of emotional support and embeddedness within one’s community.(53) These benefits have been documented across various demographics, contexts, and settings. For example, shared lunches at schools have been found to improve social connectedness by fostering informal interactions, inclusivity, and mutual understanding between students and teachers.(54,55) Events like No One Eats Alone Day can serve as catalysts for a culture of connection through food at school. Eating together is also a promising facilitator of social connection among older adults, who can collectively navigate shifts in what a healthy diet looks like as they age.(56) The intimate act of preparing and eating food together can be particularly powerful in bridging divides, from intergenerational to cultural.(57) Consider the invaluable cultural and nutritional knowledge that older adults hold and can pass down to younger generations through cooking together.
While sharing meals can happen in private spaces like homes and restaurants, it can also bring people from different backgrounds together in community spaces like libraries, churches, and parks. Community kitchens serve as places for neighbors to prepare meals together, learn about healthy eating, share local food knowledge, and provide tips on food budgeting. In doing so, they act as participatory hubs that address both food insecurity and social isolation.(58) It is important to consider various dietary needs (e.g., religious practices, allergies, etc.) to ensure that bringing people together around food does not in fact impede being able to meaningfully connect. Learn more about creating inclusive and impactful experiences through The Dinner Party Labs’ guide (Re)Connecting to Place: Strategies for Strengthening Civic Infrastructure and the Office of the Surgeon General’s guide Recipes for Connection.
Examples of Community Implementation
OneTable (international): Recognizing the power of shared meals to spark and deepen connection, OneTable supports individuals with organizing weekly Shabbat dinners. Marking the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, these gatherings are opportunities for both Jewish and non-Jewish guests to bond through ritual and tradition. Through its signature digital platform, stipends to offset expenses, and resources on creating meaningful experiences, OneTable demonstrates how organizations can empower peer-led efforts to build community. A recent study involving 2,000 OneTable participants found that 76% of guests became closer with people at a dinner and felt less lonely after attending,(60) capturing the transformative impact of something as simple as sharing a meal.
The YMCA (various): Bringing together children, camp counselors, and childcare providers, community meal programs at YMCAs across the country offer both healthy meals and social connectedness. These are particularly impactful after school, on weekends, and during the summer months, when kids cannot rely on school lunches and the relationship-building that these shared experiences offer. Meal programs also support collectively trying new foods, learning about portioning foods, and working to set a table at an age where eating habits are yet to be cemented. This supports a bi-directional transfer of knowledge and skills between children and parents, with kids bringing home healthy recipes that can be worked into family meals. As the MetroWest YMCA’s cooking classes capture, learning how to prepare these recipes serves as another instance of bringing families together.
The Longest Table (international): Founded in New York City in 2022 to bring neighbors together, The Longest Table is a community-driven event that invites participants to gather around a single, often block-long table. The Longest Table events are free to join and host, creating an accessible opportunity for residents of all ages, religious affiliations, and socioeconomic statuses to break bread and connect.
The People’s Supper (national): Shared meals also have the potential to build trust, as The People’s Supper has found through bringing together 10,000+ people from diverse groups around dinner tables since 2017. From multiracial communities seeking to bridge divides to communities grappling with polarization, The People’s Supper demonstrates how intentional design and strategy can foster connectedness through food in various contexts.
Reference: The SOCIAL Framework Report: Food and Nutrition Sector