Passion

The Social Food Collective comes out of our passion for food and its ability to bring people together.

We are inspired by how different types of food experience can help build a community, a collective.

We aim to share our learnings and experience, point you to others who are doing the same, and listen to you share your own social food stories.

Together, we will build this collective of learnings, stories, places, and events about food experience and community building.

Social Food Experience Framework

The pyramid section of the framework indicates the different levels or goals of social engagement which a social food experience can help bring about. The goals are arranged in terms of the ease with which they can be achieved and the number of people on which they can possibly have an impact. The bottom section of the framework lay out the different elements which contribute to social engagement.

Levels of Social Engagement

The levels of social engagement include:

• Familiarity – a first level of social engagement; usually happens through observation.

• Interaction – a next level of social engagement; involves social contact and exchange of communication.

• Integration – an increased participation of members of the community who belong to minority or under-represented groups; usually based on gender, disability, ethnicity, immigrant status, household income, etc.

• Shared Culture - a shared way of life and traditions which binds a community together; may revolve around shared cuisine, food production, food heritage, and festivals.

• Social Capital – a shared network of relationships and resources which can be used to achieve community goals.

“Familiarity is at the bottom of the pyramid. It is usually the first goal, especially in a community where there is a high level of diversity. Given the simplicity of this objective, the social objective of “familiarity” usually impacts a greater number of people. At the top of the pyramid is “social capital”, which is the hardest to achieve because of its need for a network of relationships and people who are committed to work for community goals. In between these two levels are the other levels of “interaction”, “integration”, and “shared culture”.

Elements Contributing to Social Engagement

Under the pyramid of social engagement goals or levels are six (6) important elements of the social food experience, which help deliver on the goals. These elements are:

1. Location, Accessibility, & Linkage

2. Physical Design

3. Variety of Uses & Activities

4. Food as Central Theme

5. Inclusion Strategies

6. Community History, Needs, & Partnerships

Read more about the framework →

Food

Why food? Food brings back beautiful memories of family and childhood. Food helps us celebrate. Food is a way by which we invite friends to our home. Food allows us to get to know a new place when we visit. Food defines our traditions, a common way of living. Food nourishes. Food brings us together.

Social

Social has many dimensions. It is a smile, exchanged as you walk around your neighborhood farmers market. It’s regularly dropping by the craft brewery around the corner to chat with the bartender, on the way home from work. It’s a Saturday trip to your farmers market, to ask your butcher about the best cut for a Sunday stew. It’s getting invited over to a friend’s house for dinner, and finding something in common with a guest or two. It’s exchanging “sawasdee kah” greeting with a street vendor in Bangkok, as you ask about how spicy the curry is. It’s planning for the next community event, where everyone will bring their favorite dish to raise funds for a favorite cause.