Value meals

In the early years of my teaching here in Oregon, I used to take, every once in a while, cookies, brownies, and cakes to work, and share with a few.  A faculty colleague remarked that sharing food--especially food made at home--rarely happens anymore in America.  This was unlike his own experiences when he was younger, he added.

When we got to talking more about this, he suggested that the reason was the price of food: It is now way less expensive than ever before and, therefore, we don't care about food itself that much anymore.

It is true that food is in plenty and accounts for a much smaller share of the household budget compared to even a generation ago.  But, the inexpensive aspect could also be the basis for arguing that one would then expect more people to share food with others.

Of course, even in the years past, it was never about the food itself.  It was a way to meaningfully connect with family, friends, and neighbors.  But, sharing food is rapidly becoming a dying tradition in a world that is, ironically, super-saturated with food shows.

My best memory of a neighbor sharing food left me with a deep appreciation of the neighbor and the idea of sharing.  I was in high school when my grandmother died.  In the traditional context in which I grew up, we couldn't have celebrations for a year, which meant that we kids wouldn't get to eat all those wonderful goodies that mother would have otherwise made. 

Fully aware of this, our neighbor sent home-made sweets for every major religious event that entire year.  Not just a couple of pieces, but a tray full of tasty eats every single time.  The neighbor's actions were immensely louder and more powerful than the most commonly expressed phrase of "I am sorry to hear about your loss." 

Of course, the situation doesn't have to be mournful in order to share food.  We can do it on good days too.

Why then don't people invite family and friends over to share meals?

This question has bugged me for years.  It was when I lived in California that I openly popped that question for the first time in a conversation.  A friend, who knew his way around the kitchen, was firm in his response.  He said that most people simply do not know how to cook decent enough food and, therefore, they do not invite others over.

That hypothesis is difficult for me to imagine, perhaps because of my formative years when I was always surrounded by people who cooked remarkably tasty foods every single day and without the fancy gadgets that we now take for granted.

Maybe the reason is as simple as there is less interest than ever before for humans to get together with fellow humans and share meals.

I cherish the idea of sharing food with friends.  Sitting around the dining table and talking while having a home-cooked meal is not the same as texting or emailing people or liking their Facebook posts.  A couple of weeks ago, during one such dinner table chat with friends, we laughed so hard that our eyes were tearing up.  

"You will never be able to laugh like this on Facebook.  It can happen only in the real world when sitting around like this" I told them after we had all recovered from the bout of laughing.