Food can bind people together across countries, cultures and class. English major senior Leah Christman started a series of dinners to unite people across even age and time.
Christman, who is a student ambassador for Student Affairs, organized the first dinner in her “Dining through the Decades: Bridging the Generation Gap” series on Sunday Sept. 23 at the Inter-Faith Center. The dinner focused on the 1930s, with a time-appropriate menu and a lecture on the history of the era.
Christman’s rationale for using food to bridge the generation gap came from her time working at a respite program for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Since she believed food can connect people to their memories and to other people, Christman felt dinners would provide the best forum.
The attendees were split almost down the middle between younger students at the college and older members of the local community. Conversations were filled with different anecdotes about Geneseo over the years.
In all, 20 guests gabbed about the time period and gobbled up the food. Christman chose the menu from a deteriorating cookbook she found in Milne Library with dishes like deviled eggs and a “poor man’s dinner” of beef and potatoes.
After most of the attendees had their fill of food, associate professor of history Kathleen Mapes provided a historical glance at the 1930s. Mapes, who is a specialist in American labor history, focused on the impact that President Franklin Roosevelt made to the economy and society of the time.
“Simply put, the New Deal helped saved capitalism by remaking it in the 1930s,” Mapes said. “That is by remaking the relationship between federal government and the economy and the federal government and the people.”
Mapes’s analysis sparked reflections in each of the groups as they thought over their own connections to the changing world of the 1930s. Some individuals recalled stories that have been passed down from parents or grandparents, while other older attendees cited their own experience with the aftermath of the Great Depression and New Deal.
Psychology major sophomore Sophie Leone enjoyed the dinner and plans to come in future events to continue to engage with the community.
“I definitely plan to come to the [future dinners],” Leone said. “If I know when it is and I can go, I’ll come.”
Christman is preparing for the 1940s themed dinner on Oct. 21 and the 1950s themed dinner on Nov. 11.
“I was pretty happy with the number of people that showed up for the event, but I expected more people because more people RSVP’d,” Christman said. “I think next time I’ll try to put out more reminders.”