A school auditorium full of people sitting at tables

Organizers of Bracken County’s Dinner Table Project said attendance has doubled since the first event. Photo courtesy of the Bracken County School District

(BROOKSVILLE, KY) – With an initiative known as the Dinner Table Project, Bracken County Middle School is not only promoting family bonding but also building a stronger sense of community, one meal at a time. The initiative launched with the support of the school’s Family Partnership Council and the Family Resource Youth Service Center (FRYSC).

The premise of the Dinner Table Project is to bring families together for a shared meal. The families are encouraged to talk, laugh and reconnect away from the distractions of daily life.

The event is held once each term in the school’s gymnasium. Each family works in a hands-on session where they learn how to create a specific dish.

When the families arrive, they find their tables and begin setting the table together as the first collaboration of the evening. The families follow along with the instructor to create a main dish and dessert. Every participating family also receives a set of kitchen utensils and a recipe book. With guidance and supplies provided by the FRYSC, families assemble their own version of the meal to take home, freeze and cook together again at a later date.

Samantha Wilson, Bracken County’s Community Schools district director, said the middle school received a grant last year from the Pritchard Committee, which had a positive impact on the school’s programming

Wilson was acting as the FRYSC director when she founded the Dinner Table Project. She said she thought it could fulfill many significant needs and bring families together.

“I just wanted to encourage families to slow down and make that meaningful connection with their children,” she said. “Sharing those conversations and revisiting, like, how our day went, the highs and the lows. I’ve experienced it first-hand where life is just rushed.”

Wilson said parents and students are pulled in many different directions and it becomes difficult to juggle the extracurriculars, jobs and events. She wants the families to begin cherishing the time they spend together and make time to create. She recalled a time in her childhood when her family would always converse over dinner discussing the highs and lows of their day.

“FRYSC provides like a family engagement game or activity and some that we’ve done in the past are like conversation cards with questions to ask at supper time,” said Wilson. “So, you can engage and learn a little bit about your family members. We want this to be an ongoing practice that you take home to your dinner table.”

The benefits of the project extend far beyond the dinner table. Wilson said for students, the event reinforced a sense of belonging and connections with their families, staff, classmates and the community that promotes healthier habits. By participating in the preparation of the meal, students also learned valuable life skills such as cooking, following instructions and working collaboratively with others. After participating in the event, some students joined the Cooking Club.

“I feel that it really contributes to their self-esteem and confidence, and l have seen relationships form based off that initial interaction at our dinner table project,” said Wilson.

The event is open to elementary and middle school students and their families. Wilson said that in comparison to the first session and the most recent session that was held Feb. 1, attendance has doubled. She also said based on the parent surveys sent out every year, the Dinner Table Project is always one of the favorite events.

“I think there’s no age cut off when it comes to like family engagement and building those relationships,” she said. “We want everyone to eat healthily and try new things. I would love to expand where it’s a district-wide event.

Wilson said the success of the Dinner Table Project is a direct result of the strong partnerships that make it all possible from spreading the word, creating invites to go shopping, setting up the recipes and following through with the cooking. Wilson said every part of the process is community-driven, and everyone involved plays a significant and meaningful role.

“That’s what I love so much about it,” she said. “It’s not just one person leading the whole thing and that’s one thing I love about Bracken County. We all come together to make sure our students and families are successful, and this project is proof of that.”