For a couple of years now, I've been thinking about how to ground people in community through hard times (because I always knew hard times were coming.)
One of the ideas I have is to have weekly community pot lucks. My idea is that people who are actually hungry and hurting for nutritious food would bring whatever they could afford (paper napkins, say, or trivets) in exchange for getting to sit down with other people who aren't as bad off as they are.
I see a lot of benefits to this. The first is, people who are struggling aren't stigmatized by having to go to a soup kitchen. Plus, poor people (especially ones who aren't used to being unemployed or underemployed) are usually depressed. This kind of human contact gives them something to look forward to every week.
For the people who do still have enough to eat, it's a good way to share without offending someone's dignity. (Plus, you know, good karma!) And let's face it, all but the most disciplined of us waste food. So this would be a good way to make maximum use of resources - and it's a gentle reminder that there but for the grace of God go you or I.
The thing is, this is the kind of project that's usually done through a church or other existing community group - the groups to which I don't belong because I'm not really a joiner.
Anyone have any ideas about how to make this work?