To know and be known is one of the deepest shared desires of human kind. “Social” media has exploited this desire by building systems which make us feel connected though, in reality most of us probably can’t even list the names of our immediate neighbors.
Friending or following someone online who you’ve met maybe once or twice and then being bombarded by all their manicured highlights gives us the false sense of knowing them and does nothing else aside from building false expectations that we have to meet certain cultural standards in order to be accepted which feeds into anxiety, a much more concerning pandemic if you ask me!
I want to help bring our neighborhoods back to a community mindset and what better way to do that then by reigniting an old tradition which involves surprising people with food and getting to truly know them through the experience of giving gifts and sparking authentic face-to-face conversation!
Plate-It-Forward is not just a plate, it is an invitation into relationship and to become truly known by those who surround us in our everyday lives. It is the excuse some of us need to reach over the fence and finally get to know the people right next door to us.
When you give a Plate-It-Forward gift you are instigating authentic relationship with your neighbor, friend, coworker, or family member. It is a way to show you care and an opportunity to look them in the eye and ask “How are you?”. I hope then that you listen and that they are honest. I hope that it builds your relationship and strengthens community for you both. I hope that also by reading and following along with the plates journey online you will be encouraged and affirmed that there is still good in the world and people are still capable of authentic human connection.
Blessings FAM!
Sarah Crawford