Everyone has a food story. Sharing food and stories is what connects us and makes us human. This is the foundational premise of Community Plate, a Maine-based nonprofit dedicated to fostering connection and creating community through shared meals and stories. We bring people together in non-partisan, cross-cultural, intergenerational spaces at Story Sharing Potluck Suppers, our statewide series of free community events. 

The Community Plate Model 

Since June of 2023, Community Plate has hosted our Story Sharing Potluck Supper program in 40 communities across 15 of Maine’s counties. Depending upon the venue, each supper engages between 40 and 100 people. Our model relies on partnership and collaboration with local community organizations, who provide a venue, tables, and chairs, while Community Plate provides everything else. With a focus on sustainability, we bring in cloth table linens, vintage mismatched china, and flowers, and we pack out dirty linens and dishes, and any compost generated from the event. Community Plate provides some of the food, and participants fill out the rest of the meal with their offerings.  

Bringing something of themselves invests participants in the experience, and the aesthetics of the event are designed to elevate the meal and instill a sense of pride in the community. Even though it is a food event, the program is designed for spaces that do not necessarily maintain kitchen facilities, greatly broadening our ability to work in rural communities with modest infrastructure and minimal “third spaces” for public gatherings. All of our public events are held in ADA-compliant venues and are free for anyone to attend. We feel strongly that there should be no economic barriers to community. All are welcome, and we prioritize meeting people where they are, encouraging everyone to be their best selves by creating a setting where connection and feelings of belonging come naturally. 

In the weeks that follow each supper, we collect the stories and recipes that participants brought to the event, and compile them into a small community cookbook that’s mailed to each attendee—a reminder of the community we created, and an artifact preserving the family stories and recipes for posterity. 

Incorporating Storytelling 

Core to our program’s mission are three things: designed to provide a permission structure for connection; provides food-focused story prompts that give scaffolding for conversation; and creates a container for attention, generosity, belonging, and gratitude. Our goals are to reimagine the potluck, revitalize relationships, and reenergize our communities. 

Part of our reimagining is to incorporate live storytelling. At the end of the meal, a curated lineup of practiced storytellers performs, telling personal narratives on the theme of the evening. This element adds a collective experience of connection that amplifies the personal bonds already fostered over the meal.  

There is a magic and serendipity at these community events that can be difficult to describe. The combination of sharing food and stories engages us simultaneously in both giving and receiving. It invites attendees to be generous and vulnerable, and open to connection. That is the power of Community Plate. 

Potlucks as an Antidote to Loneliness 

We have seen the power of food and stories to create connections among people who might otherwise not form bonds with each other. Public health research has borne this out, and in 2024, then Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recommended in-person gatherings and potlucks as antidotes to loneliness in his publication, Recipes for Connection, shortly before the end of his term.   

In November of 2024, we partnered with the East Sangerville Grange in Piscataquis County to host a supper that took place just days after the contentious presidential election. After a beautifully harmonious event, our partner Dyan McCarthy-Clark observed the following: 

“It’s a step of courage to sit down next to strangers with the intention of having a conversation, and yet, there we were–long tables full of folks seeking positive and meaningful connections with people they just met! After the meal was finished, so many continued chatting as if they had been friends for years.”  

At a time when loneliness is an epidemic, when our communities feel more divided than united, when we spend more time on screens than in face-to-face conversations, sharing a meal, a story, a recipe is a modest gesture that can make an outsized impact. Research has shown that despite Americans’ willingness and desire to connect with others, more than half of us live in communities with no or minimal access to places where we can meet or talk to our neighbors. This is especially true for rural communities. To address this public and civic health crisis, Community Plate reinterprets the long tradition of the community potluck, adding public storytelling as a source of connection and entertainment. 

The Impact of the Potluck 

Our work is having an impact. After each event, we provide a survey to collect both qualitative and quantitative feedback about the specific supper and the Community Plate framework in general. So far, the results have been remarkable. For example, 97% of survey respondents report making a connection with someone they didn’t know or didn’t know well. 87% report that the supper made them feel more connected to their communities, and the same number report an increased interest in participating in other community events. Not only do Community Plate events provide individual connection, but they provide a much-needed spark to inspire and reignite interest in further community participation. 

In addition to the impact Community Plate has had locally, our success in Maine is inspiring others working on social connection initiatives around the country. In 2025, our work was featured nationally on NPR Weekend Edition, NBC Nightly News, the Today show, and in the pages of the National Civic Review. We were named one of 25 innovators tackling loneliness in 2025. In October, we were invited by Dr. Murthy and the team of his new initiative, The Together Project, along with 20 other community builders from around the country, to spend a week in Montana discussing and advising how they can accelerate social connection efforts across the United States. 

Why You Should Host a Potluck, Too 

The 2025 World Happiness Report presents new evidence that communities where people share more meals have higher levels of social support and lower levels of loneliness. This is true across ages, genders, countries, cultures, and regions. 

In America, sadly, we are spending more and more time dining alone. In 2023, roughly 1 in 4 Americans reported eating all of their meals alone the previous day – an increase of 53% in 20 years. 

At Community Plate, we are working to change this, one meal and one food story at a time. And you can too. On July 5th, as part of America’s 250th anniversary celebration, you are invited to participate in America’s Potluck! America’s Potluck is an opportunity for neighbors to join with one another to share a fun, communal meal, creating a sense of connection and belonging and fostering interactions among people from all walks of life. Join the movement to build connections within your community by spreading the word and planning to host a potluck on July 5, 2026. Better yet, walk across the street (or the hall) to find a neighbor to co-host the potluck with you! More information at: https://america250.utah.gov/americaspotluck/

Karl Schatz is the co-founder and Executive Director of Community Plate, a Maine-based nonprofit that uses shared food and storytelling to address loneliness and social disconnection. You can learn more about Community Plate at https://communityplate.me