The third annual Food for Thought community dinner will take place at Central United Methodist Church on Thursday, Nov. 19 from 5-7 p.m. A free meal will be provided to the community of Spokane, along with the opportunity to meet new people from varied life experiences and gain an appreciation for their stories.
According to the Food for Thought mission statement, the purpose of the community dinner is to provide a meal for community members during which they can share their lives, stories, and opinions with others.
This year, the community dinner will be a part of homelessness awareness week for the first time. The dinner will be more widely publicized as a result of being included in the awareness week agenda. Including the dinner in awareness week marks an exciting change for the event, said Rhosetta Rhodes, director of service learning and community engagement.
More guests are expected as a result of the increased publicity.
“We are expecting a larger turnout this year, from around 160 to more than 200. “ said David Whitehead, event planner for Food for Thought.
It has been a goal of planners of the event to include more guests, Rhodes said.
“There is no way to improve upon what happens, but we can always include more people in the conversation,” Rhodes said.
Those working behind the scenes for the event are eager to see the effects of a larger and more varied group.
“This year I am most excited to partner with the Spokane Homeless Coalition, and the expansion of all those involved, the business people of middle class Spokane,” Whitehead said.
Rhodes has attended the event the past two years, and is enthusiastic for this year as well, she said.
“I’m looking forward to new people, people I wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to converse with,” Rhodes said. “It is a conversation for the entire Spokane community.”
The annual community dinner began three years ago when Katie Petitt, then a freshman at Whitworth, and David Whitehead, a freshman at Gonzaga, partnered to carry out the vision of homeless community member Mike Rowels.
“It’s an event where we invite the whole city of Spokane, the homeless, professors, students and city representatives to share a meal. There is no program or agenda,” Petitt said. “It is an opportunity for people to interact with those they wouldn’t be able to, and to begin the process of breaking down stereotypes.”
A hope for the event is that it will provide an opportunity for the people of Spokane to connect over a meal, and that through this shared experience a greater understanding of those who come from a drastically different background can be achieved. For Petitt and Whitehead, the most natural way to facilitate these conversations was to provide a meal.
Rhodes said that as Petitt and Whitehead are both graduating, Whitworth’s Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement is looking into having the Bonner leaders filling in the planning role for Whitworth, partnering with Gonzaga.
“It’s an amazing event, the support they’ve received from the community is incredible,” Rhodes said.
Specifically looking to this year’s dinner, Petitt said, “Each year is different, I’m excited to see how this year shapes up. My favorite part is hearing the story that comes after the dinner.”
After last year’s dinner, Petitt heard from men who had never interacted with the homeless before that the event. They said the dinner had changed their perspective on the homeless, as for the first time were able to recognize the homeless as individuals with stories.
Contact Haley Atkinson at haley.atkinson@whitworthian.com.
Community invited to share a meal
Published: Monday, November 16, 2009
Updated: Monday, November 16, 2009
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