The Price of Free Food

by Naya Young

“Food and Refreshments will be provided,” “Free dinner buffet,” “There will be pizza!” So many committees and event coordinators have adorned their flyers and advertisements with these words. But what does this say about our society? Are we really so extrinsically motivated that we need to be bribed with the promise of free food? Or is the presence of free food at these events simply a reflection of our cultural traditions of socializing through food consumption?

In the United States, food is consumed in abundance; there is no necessity for revolving our days around finding and eating food. Yet, the act of eating remains as an integral part of social interactions. The University of North Carolina (UNC) campus in particular highlights the importance of food as a means of social interaction. Extra-curricular events, whether academic or casual, very often provide foods, desserts or appetizers for the attendees. But this is not merely used as an incentive for people to attend the events. To prove this, I attended various on-campus seminars, lectures, and discussions which ultimately demonstrated that food serves various purposes within the community.

My first voyage led me to a small meeting room in the top floor of the Student Union for a discussion. The spicy aroma of traditional Indian cuisine drifted throughout the area prior to the discussion’s start, thus exciting the attendees from the moment we walked into the room. Students grabbed their bowls of chickpea curry and rice as they patiently waited for the guest speaker, a public health activist from Jamkhed, India, to begin the talk. The food visibly affected verbal interaction between people before the discussion began. From what I witnessed, most people came alone and were unfamiliar with most others in the room. However, once the food was served, individuals began to open up and make light conversation with those around them. By this point, the atmosphere was so comfortable that even I began conversing with the other students despite my intentions to simply observe. This light-hearted atmosphere carried on throughout the entire discussion, and no doubt contributed to the ease at which people were able to ask and answer the questions of the speaker.

The discussion concerned the Comprehensive Rural Health Project in Jamkhed, India. Led by Christina Patel, a representative from Jamkhed International, this session dealt with the importance of providing basic community health care in small parts of India. The curry and rice we ate prior to and during the discussion acted not only as a means of lightening the atmosphere, it drew a connection between us students and the stories Ms. Patel shared from India. Though we could not actually see what our speaker talked about, eating food from the region helped us to visualize the communities she referenced.

Next, I ventured to the Tate-Turner School of Social Work where I attended an event known as Harambee. Harambee is a Kenyan tradition in which a community assembles to share stories and listen to music and poetry. Though this concept is not foreign to American culture, the School of Social Work community referred to their program by the Kenyan name to signify their theme of cultural diversity. The event coordinators encouraged people to bring cultural food to share with everyone else. The result was a very large array of foods, desserts and beverages, each with its own cultural significance. The presence of Chinese dumplings, Ethiopian meat dishes, and the ever popular deviled eggs created a unique opportunity for cultural integration and insight.

The food dishes, each reflecting the heritage of a different attendee, established a basis for many of the conversations at the beginning of the event, as well as several whisperings during the presentations.

“Charlene made the potato salad” ”What are these things called again?” “Have you tried ambrosia?”

As I overheard little snippets of conversations, I noticed that the majority of the discussions revolved around the food. While most people applauded for and supported each of the presenters, much of the discussions focused on the food. Why was the primary topic at the event food? Perhaps it was because the wide vast array of choices made it a natural thing for the people to discuss. Maybe food was the most comfortable subject because it was something that everyone could relate to. It could have been because some people were more interested in eating than in listening to poetry and traditional music. Despite whatever the true reasoning may be, the fact remains that the presence of food impacted the Harambee guests in ways in a powerful manner; possibly more powerful than the event coordinators anticipated.

So from what I witnessed, it appeared as if free food creates a positive atmosphere for extra-curricular events. I soon learned that this is not always the case. The last event I attended was a luncheon featuring a guest speaker who advocated the benefits of studying abroad. Since the discussion occurred around lunch time, the presence of food was much appreciated. However, early on in the discussion it became apparent that Jimmy John’s lunch boxes are not ideal for that type of event. The crinkling sounds of the sandwich paper and the crunching sounds of people munching on chips and pickle slices nearly drowned out the speaker’s voice, making it hard to concentrate on what she was saying. And to further add to the distraction, everything in the lunch boxes had to be unwrapped individually; which drew more attention to the food than the program itself.

From my observations I noticed that food can either help or hinder a program. Cuisine that was backed with a cultural significance, generally worked as a mechanism to lighten the atmosphere. But does this mean that free food needs some sort of profound purpose behind it to be useful? Not necessarily. The effectiveness of offering a free meal is ultimately determined by the level of distraction that the food creates. So next time you find yourself planning an event, remember that refreshments of some sort can enhance the level of comfort for your guests, just make sure that it doesn’t overpower the subject of the program.