Eat, Celebrate, and Grow Together

Sharing a meal brings neighbors and friends together like nothing else. When Habitat for Humanity’s Neighborhood Revitalization team wanted to celebrate their one-year anniversary working here in the neighborhood, they hosted a warm hearted potluck party in the Glass House Collective office space on Saturday, October 28th. We may have had loads of gear stacked up in preparation for Glass Street LIVE the next day, but it hardly mattered, as neighbors were excited to simply sit down and enjoy a meal together, sharing fun memories of progress made on their homes during the past year.

As one neighbor, Ms. Patricia shared, “We just need to get together sometimes and talk about the good things going on, while we eat and visit. I’m glad we had time to hear about each other’s homes too.”

When we meet together with the Habitat NR team, the importance of relaxing together, and having fun with neighbors is a recurring theme. The simplest format seems to be simply sharing meals. Grow Hope Urban Farmer, Joel Tippens agrees. He came up with a vision for building stronger neighbor bonds through sharing healthy meals together, starting with Thanksgiving leftovers this month.

“People want better food options here, but instead of just talking about the theory, nothing brings home the point like just eating a good, healthy meal together,” Joel says. We’re excited to hear neighbors talk about wanting to hang out more often than just during the monthly Good Neighbor Network meetings. Maybe this first Neighborhood Potluck, happening at Hope for the Inner City on Wednesday, Nov. 29th, will plant the seeds for regular potluck meals to grow, and foster friendship around the table.