Ooh cookies! - food and participation
The case for upping your catering budget in participatory programmes
This article was originally posted on Substack. Follow and subscribe.
Last year I shared an Instagram story of a neatly arranged pile of cookies with the caption ‘has anyone done a study on how good food helps people participate better?’. No one replied, and I haven’t done an official study (yet), but I do now have this Substack and some observations to share.
Some useful context by way of a very brief introduction: Hello! I’m Katy and I work in museums, libraries and cultural orgs organising what we call ‘participatory programmes’ (contested term, but we won’t get into that today). This could be workshops, courses, conferences, talks, community-based projects… whatever form it takes, it’s about connecting people with collections, ideas and the world and society they exist within. The goals vary, but for me it’s about learning and exchanging knowledge, connecting with others, exploring your own mind and the way you think and feel, playing and experimenting with process, and, hopefully, having moments of revelation.
Sometimes my role is called a ‘producer’ or ‘programmer’, which makes it sound either like I work in TV or computing. I tend to write ‘event manager’ when I fill in forms.
Now you know what I’m talking about when I discuss ‘participation’ in this piece, let’s start talking about a favourite topic: food.
In my years of organising, hosting and facilitating participatory programmes I’ve consistently noticed the impact good catering can have on the participant experience and the outcomes of the day. Whether it’s shelling out for the “luxury cookies” or getting in takeway pizza, I’ve seen in practice that nourished bodies have nourished minds.
This isn’t a groundbreaking observation, but I have been doing some thinking about why, and here are my thoughts.
‘Food is the best social lubricant’.
Wise words from recent Substack article by Jose Luis Chicoma about food and loneliness (definitely worth a read, and thanks Jose for inspiring these writings). What better way to facilitate conversation than over food? Back in 2011 I was running a youth workshop about identity at an archive - we shared pizza slices and life stories for hours. Eating collectively created a sense of community and common purpose; two key principles that participation rests upon, in my experience.
The refreshment table as lifeboat
In that last example, the participants were known to each other. But what happens when you’re total strangers? We’ve all been there, the awkward walk into a room where you don’t know anyone. Overthinking every word and movement. But look, a table of refreshments - thank goodness!
That refreshment table can act as an anchor in the room, a communal place of purpose (and perhaps, then, safety?). It gives you something familiar to do in a moment of unfamiliarity. I don’t think we can underestimate how important that is to help participants start to feel settled in a new environment.
From a physical perspective, it requires people to move around the room, and that helps too. Stimulated bodies are more likely to have stimulated minds.
Then there’s the small talk. ‘Is the water still hot?’, ‘could you pass me the oat milk please?’. Even if you’re not a small talker (and that’s fine!), these small interactions can help people feel a bit more at ease in an unfamiliar environment.
Nourished minds, nourished participation
Are we more likely to ‘join in’ once we’re satiated? From what I’ve seen, very much so. I was running a creative writing workshop a few months ago, and visualise, if you will, a chart tracking energy levels and refreshment consumption, with massive spikes after each time we had a break and refreshment. Each time participants came back with renewed energy. Again, this isn’t groundbreaking information, but it’s making the case for your catering budget. On that -
Good food adds value
The ‘Ooh cookies!’ quote in the title of this was exclaimed by a participant upon entering a learning room on the first day of a week-long writing course. In the post-course survey, the cookies were mentioned multiple times. Who knew nice cookies could have such an impact! The point here is that upping the quality of the cookies was noticed and added value to the participant experience. And when we’ve seen above how it can help with ‘social lubrication’ and energised participation, it’s evidence again that catering is important.
The post-event pub trip
This one has nothing to do with me, but I’ve observed that food and drink are central to the ‘what now?’ moment when a participatory programme finishes. I’ve seen many groups, who started the day as strangers, go to the pub afterwards to keep conversing and bonding. It’s another example of the power of food as social lubricant and social connector.
If you’re an event manager, producer or programmer, I hope I’ve convinced you to up your catering budget or reflect on you incorporate food into your programmes. I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments.
If you’ve been a participant, I’d love to hear your experiences of catering. Was it good/bad? Did it help or hinder your participation?
Thanks for reading!
This article was originally posted on Substack. Follow and subscribe.
