Nourishing Community

Wait, I’ve got a job for you!

January. 

Milky light. 

Short days.

Bleak.

For many, this sodden season is mercilessly exacerbated by being alone.

We know this is so at The Long Table. So we keep the fire lit and remind ourselves to welcome everyone as warmly as possible.

At this time of year, the handing over of a bowl of hot food, made with love, is the pinnacle of our culinary art. We see how it lifts people up. 

It is hope made edible.

AND YET, everything, from the soil to the the welcome, that goes into the meal, is but half of what The Long Table is.

And that’s where you come in.

Your proximity to others, eating at the table, is your invitation to connect. With a glance, a smile, an acknowledgement, a question even, and when you do - magic.

We go from strangers to kith-in-the-making neighbours.
We go from alone to with.

A kind human transformation from isolation into companionship; this, and more, is certainly possible.

It’s why our common refrain is: Amazing things happen when we eat together.

The connections you make, amplified by many others, is the social glue that nourishes community that proliferates hope.

Look out for the little yellow cards on the tables and blue-tacked to the wall. They are capturing the connections made possible by eating together. And when you make a fresh connection with someone, please write it down and add it to the wall - these stories of connection really feed us as a team and are an encouragement to others. 

And thus the cycle continues, a nourished community nourishes and builds us up; to keep going, keep cooking with love, keep welcoming with warmth, and keep growing the table longer to make sure there’s a place for each of us.