Food Builds Community

I went to a small café for breakfast this weekend. It wasn’t a chain – a Gail’s Bakery or a Costa coffee. It was a lady cooking breakfasts, with her daughter making coffees.

While I sat there, eating a massive 4-egg omelette and one of the best dressed side salads of my life, I saw a man finish his coffee and realise his phone had died so he couldn’t pay. He asked for some time to go charge up and return to pay. He asked for her trust, and she gave it.

Then I saw a family of three come in and hug the owner like they hadn’t seen her in weeks. They brought her a gift of chocolates from their travels. They caught up, with big smiles. They had missed one another, and the family was happy to be back at a favourite, familiar place.

The daughter and mother chatted in the kitchen as orders were prepped. The delivery man came in with fresh produce, chatting to the owner with familiarity.

The first man came back and paid his bill. Trust paid off, along with his debt.

I see this all the time – it’s the power of food.

And I said to her, you’ve built something here – You bring people together and you’re building community. The dad of the newly returned family of travellers looked up and looked over, listening. She smiled with her eyes. And her face turned to me with full authentic belief, she said “Yes - The world is so crazy with everything right now, and people are so divided – we need to come together.” This is someone who understood exactly what she was doing - that a welcoming space, good food and a table can unite people – across the lines of race or immigration-status.

As I left, better nourished than when I arrived, I said “keep doing what you’re doing” and she smiled again with her eyes. The dad of the travelling family smiled too, knowing, I think that he and his family are a part of the community that she’s made.