On November 20th, 2019, 5:30-7:30 in the Cohn Family Dining Commons at Greenfield Community College, the Interfaith Council of Franklin County and Greenfield Community College are collaborating to create a community meal celebrating the cultures, traditions, and ethnicities of our region. This family-friendly event will include games for children, music, dance, information tables, food representing Guatemalan, Egyptian, Thai, Puerto Rican, Korean, Mexican, Jewish, Senegalese, Tibetan, and Indigenous Peoples cultures! There will also be an opportunity for people from different communities and ethnicities to offer blessings or share traditions.

The idea for the collaboration emerged from a desire to highlight and celebrate the many cultures and ethnicities that are embedded in Franklin County and the surrounding areas. Over the years our communities have become more diverse, and our opportunities to sample food from all over the world have increased dramatically, yet, we rarely have the opportunity to sit down and break bread with our neighbors or families from across the street, let alone from another town.

Come For Supper is designed to be a community meal that encourages interaction, meeting new people, helping people to get to know the neighbors that help make Franklin County so dynamic and exciting.

"To a certain degree, you can measure quality of life by the diversity of cultures represented in a city or town's culinary options. We are incredibly lucky in this region to have a wealth of locally grown food that feeds into a rich range of restaurants and caterers," says Dean Leo Hwang. "People in Franklin County are hungry and eager to try new foods and meet new people, but sometimes in a rural region, it is hard to have the space to make that happen. We hope that Come For Supper will be one way to bring people together to strengthen our bonds of community."

The Rev. Kate Stevens shared, "As a member of the Interfaith Council of Franklin County, it is an honor to work in partnership with GCC to celebrate the culinary and cultural diversity of this community. I look forward to a stimulating and delicious evening."

Franklin County is home to a rich mix of people, heritages, and cultures and we can't wait to share our bounty with you. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP at gcc.mass.edu/supper

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