Our stories around food are a great path to understanding different cultures and backgrounds. Ashland is United’s past events, “Breaking Bread Together” and “Baking Bread Together,” have proven that food brings people together. To continue this theme of food and connection, Ashland is United (AiU) held a virtual discussion and dinner event over Zoom: “Ashland’s Virtual Table: Join Us for a Meaningful Meal,” on Sunday, Sept. 13th, '2020.

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Participants were encouraged to prepare a favorite dish from their culture or family to eat while engaging in the virtual discussion. In the introductory round, names and recipes were discussed in order to help participants learn a bit about each other and their backgrounds. When sharing names, it became clear that in many cultures, names are chosen to honor a relative. Some names came from religious texts or were derived from mythological characters. Prepared meals included Polish golumpki (stuffed cabbage), Mexican chicken fajita, Indian rice pilaf and chicken kofta, Italian gnocchi, and Jewish noodle kugel. There was even a suggestion of “if I could I would have brought ham steak and corn and peach cobbler.” 

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Even with the limitations of a Zoom gathering, the participants were able to share personal stories that highlighted their cultural traditions and to discuss experiences in talking with those who were, on the surface, different than themselves. Throughout the 1½ hour event, participant remarks revealed the common theme that first assumptions are often incorrect and that given the opportunity to interact with those from different backgrounds, “people can really surprise you” with their positivity, generosity, and kindness. Greenstein highlighted that participants also noted that “when you come to these new experiences with an open mind, wonderful and unexpected benefits can happen.”