Loving Log Lunch with Lead Cooks Abby and Gabby

.Running Log Lunch with Abby Robinson this past year was in many ways how I imagined it would be. There were countless early morning dance parties, endless vegetable jokes, and bountiful heart warming food made even better by good  company. I couldn’t possibly have predicted, however, the extent to which Log Lunch became a little community of its own and a solace for me, from everything else in my life during a crazy senior year. In hindsight, I think the sense of community within our amazing staff group helped further the ways in which Log Lunch builds community on a campus-wide scale.

Many of the people we hired in September I hadn’t met before, and we also made an effort to hire a range of class years and backgrounds. At first I was a little unsure of how we would mesh as a group, since it seemed like such a random assortment of people in the beginning, but I think this diversity allowed us to foster something of our own. For 8 hours every Friday morning, I got to forget about whatever other crazy things were going on that week and just sing in the kitchen and knead balls of dough larger than

small children. The group dynamic was energetic, supportive, and creative, and I think that was what allowed us to turn out such delicious food

I see the way Log Lunch functions on campus as valuable because of its potential for inclusivity. I always enjoyed seeing new people come to lunch and I think reaching as many different people on campus as possible should always be a goal of the lunches, whether that be through social media advertising or getting classes or clubs to sponsor a free lunch for their members. From the connections between the now-friends I got to cook with every Friday, to the groups of friends that get to come together to eat the food we cook, to the relationships I feel so blessed to have been able to build with farmers, I strongly believe that log lunch is most valuable in its potential to build community and relationships around food and I hope that this con tinues to be a priority for the program in the future! We are so thrilled to leave Log Lunch in the highly capable hands of Britt and Elowyn for this next year, and can’t wait to see where they go.

Read about the year’s Log Lunches on the CES homepage by scrolling down to the  “Announcements” section at ces.williams.edu.

Williams Magazine featured Log Lunch in the summer issue:

http://magazine.williams.edu/2016/summer/notice/a-closer-look-the-log-lunch/