Gathering around a dinner table is much more than a meal. It’s families coming together for conversation, connections, and the opportunity to create a healthy meal together.
Poppleton residents take their seat around the neighborhood table every other month to enjoy Dinner on Us, a community initiative made possible through a $15,000 Dreambuilders grant. Created to address food access challenges in Poppleton, the initiative also teaches families practical skills for preparing nutritious meals at home.
Wearing the chef’s hat is Heather Smith, the head chef at Swill, who leads bimonthly cooking experiences. Residents receive a recipe and enough ingredients to prepare the meal for a family of 4-6 people. Meals are selected to ensure a variety of dietary needs can be met.
Dinner on Us is about much more than food on a plate.
“The whole experience is about preparing it around people,” Heidi Stevens, United Way’s Senior Director of Community Schools, shares. It allows families to have healthier conversations around food and build stronger relationships with one another. Children, parents, and grandparents all participate in the experience, learning new recipes and sharing stories, highlighting the impact of the multigenerational approach.
Dinner on Us has even brought special guests, like former Baltimore Ravens player Odafe Oweh, to the Poppleton neighborhood to engage with local families and support the initiative.
Food access initiatives extend beyond Dinner on Us. The James McHenry Recreation Center pantry, supplied by the Maryland Food Bank, provides resources for local residents, while Excel Academy’s pantry focuses on their students and families.
Community engagement is also woven throughout these efforts. At the BGE Resource Fair hosted at James McHenry Elementary/Middle School, high schoolers participated as volunteers, getting service experience while simultaneously developing leadership skills. At the nearby rec center, a Chopped Jr. Competition took place. The center’s culinary club challenged Chef Heather in preparing meals.
Looking ahead, Heidi and other United Way team members hope to continue Dinner on Us through other local community schools, while also expanding to senior recreation centers – bringing the same combination of healthy cooking, community, and food education to a growing ALICE population.
The impact of community initiatives, like Dinner on Us, reaches beyond the kitchen. By pairing food access and education with meaningful connection, these efforts help families and neighborhoods build healthier futures.
Every meal and shared conversation helps ensure more Poppleton families have a seat at the table. Help make sure there are enough seats with a gift today.
