Food co-op follow up

One of the things that can be the most frustrating when you are a parent (new or seasoned) can be the lack of kid-friendly grown up things to do. I am not talking about going to Chick-fil-a on Thursday nights for kids night. (Which by the way sounds awful and must be avoided) No, I am talking about going out and having a glass of wine and adult conversation over good food, while the little ones also enjoy food and the company of other kids. Sounds hard to do right? Well, I am happy to report that my food co op/dinner share idea that I had a few weeks back has become just that. 

When I wrote about the food co-op idea a few weeks ago, I had no idea that it would take off so fast. There have now been four official dinners and each week gets better and better. Here is the deal:

There are now officially 16 members of the group. Some have kids, some are single, some are married without kids or married with grown kids. There are all types, but with one thing in common, love of good food. Each week there is a different theme and everyone brings enough food to eat that night and to take home for left overs for the week. The kids run around with fruit in their hands, while the adults eat and discuss current topics, recipes and sometimes graphic details of labor. Hey, you know we have two pregnant women involved, that topic is bound to come up! We meet at a different persons' house on Tuesday nights with our dishes and recipes in hand. Some people are seasoned cooks and some people are new to it. However, everyone's food is delicious and welcomed. What has been the best part of it all, is watching people who normally don't cook, push themselves and really make amazing dishes happen. 

The kids are being exposed to new foods, new people and good conversation. Not just shoved in a back room with dvd's. No, the children are welcomed to eat right along side the adults. This to me is my favorite part. 

This has been a rough few years in our economy. Maybe a couple of years ago, going out to dinner a couple of nights a week was the norm. Maybe you can still do that, but if there is one thing that I have learned in these tough times, money and possessions are fluid, people and good memories are not. This Tuesday night dinner share is so much more than just getting together over food. It pushes us to be creative, to actually interact with each other, to welcome people into our homes and to really create memories with our children and friends. 

I encourage people to start their own dinner share. It is a great way to learn new recipes, have a midweek outing, share good conversation with friends and family and the most important part teach your kids the joy of cooking and socialization. And if your kids are old enough, have them create dishes on their own. See what their little creative minds can come up with. 

Cheers!