Food, Conversation and Connection: Strengthening Non-Profit Communication
I have long been a proponent of the power of food to create connections, open doors, and break down barriers. Food is a natural connector. Food is a basic need shared by all, required to survive and thrive. Food is a natural common denominator that helps us bond with each other.
For me, food is a necessary ingredient at many of the events and conversations I facilitate. It helps put people at ease and provides an easy topic of conversation: Who made this wonderful dish? Can I have the recipe? Food is also something we need to think clearly about, learn about, and process ideas about.
For non-profits, there is a lesson here that goes beyond what we put on the table.
Strong communication starts by creating an environment where people feel welcomed, comfortable, and able to participate.
Whether we are bringing together team members, Board members, volunteers, community partners, or other interest holders, sometimes the simplest things can help people connect and begin talking to one another.
Unfortunately, not everyone has equal access to food.
This is a fact that I was reminded of every September when I visited my daughters’ school and spoke with the Childcare Support Teacher who ran a Breakfast for Learning program. This program served a basic breakfast and lunch to 30–50 students—in a population of about 450—on any given day to ensure that students had access to the food they needed to learn, excel, and do their best.
According to the Breakfast for Learning website, one in six children faced hunger every year. That’s a startling statistic in our communities, especially when you consider the impact hunger and access to nutritious food can have on learning, behaviour, health, and a child’s ability to participate fully.
As Breakfast for Learning explained:
“Hunger has a huge impact on a child’s ability to learn and function. It prevents them from reaching their full potential in the classroom, and in life.”
You can read more at Breakfast for Learning, Childhood Hunger in Canada.
The Breakfast for Learning program was founded in 1992 by the editors of Canadian Living Magazine, who were committed to helping Canadian children have a better chance at a secure future, thereby strengthening families. When I originally wrote this article in 2016, they were funding more than 1,600 programs across Canada.
One of them was located at my daughter’s school.
That hit very close to home, knowing that some of the students sitting beside my daughter in class could be hungry—and doing their best to learn while their tummies were grumbling.
While Breakfast for Learning provided foundational funding for many school breakfast and lunch programs, additional resources were always needed. Many food donations were secured through local partnerships with restaurants, coffee shops, food banks, and other community organizations. Fresh fruit and vegetables, however, were costly and harder to come by.
And this is where another important lesson about non-profit communication and community partnerships emerges.
Those relationships don’t simply provide resources.
They connect people.
They create awareness.
They help community partners better understand local needs and give them an opportunity to become part of the solution.
The stronger the communication between a non-profit and its community partners, the easier it becomes to share needs, identify opportunities, coordinate resources, and work together toward a common goal.
The same principle applies inside our organizations.
When team members communicate openly about what they see and experience, we understand needs differently. When programs share information rather than working in silos, opportunities emerge. When we ask questions and listen to the people closest to an issue, we make better decisions.
Sometimes strengthening communication starts with something as simple as gathering people around a table.
So, as I wrap up this article, I want you to consider:
What does childhood hunger look like in your community? At your local schools? What programs and services are helping today’s students grow into the leaders of tomorrow?
And then think a little more broadly about your own organization.
Who do you need to bring around the table? What conversations aren’t happening yet? And what could become possible if your team and community partners had more opportunities to connect, talk, and learn from one another?
After all, sometimes the first ingredient in a stronger relationship is simply creating space for the conversation.
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