Sun 9/22 @ 4:30 – 7pm
By John Benson
Beginning in biblical times, the notion of breaking bread connoted sharing a meal with family and friends.
However, there’s also a greater significance where the breaking of bread with someone meant a peaceful meal between perhaps opposing sides. In a nutshell, that’s what the volunteer-supported group Vital Neighborhoods 2019 is hoping to encourage – bridging the often adversarial relationship between residents of the East Side and West Side – with its now second annual Potluck in the Park event taking place Sun 9/22 at the Dunham Tavern Museum in Cleveland.
Vital Neighborhoods is a group that formed out of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit in 2010, which has a goal of creating a green city located on a blue lake. The mission of the organization is to cultivate sustainable neighborhoods of choice where residents are engaged, empowered, enlightened, resilient and self-reliant. Each year the organization focuses on an element of sustainability.
Cool Cleveland talked to Vital Neighborhoods 2019 group member and event organizer Lilah Zautner about the group and this unique potluck event.
Cool Cleveland: What’s the idea behind the Potluck in the Park event?
Lilah Zautner: We’re a volunteer working group concerned with neighborhood sustainability in Cleveland. This idea, which is part of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 agenda, came actually from a trip we had taken with local farmers to Detroit where they had these potlucks. We liked the idea, so some growers and eateries in Cleveland decided to do the same thing.
How was the inaugural Potluck in the Park received?
It was a great success. We had about 250 people and 12 local food restaurants donated large dishes. We had 150 dishes total. It was at Edgewater Park and everyone seemed to have an amazing time. It went very well and based on the success of last year our volunteer group decided we’d do it again. This year we wanted to do it on the east side since last year was on the west side.
So does Potluck in the Park promote Vital Neighborhoods?
We promote 2019 in the fact that there are representatives there. We have a limited number of education tables so people working within local food and education are invited to have display tables. There are about 10 of them. But quite frankly, the sole mission of the event is to bring people together from across the city to join together and eat a meal together.
What kind of food are we talking about?
Restaurants are part of it, but honestly the majority of the food comes from community members. The idea is that what we’re trying to do is simply come together throughout Cleveland around one big delicious dinner. We encourage people to use local food in their dishes. So food from their garden or their farmer’s market [are] in the dishes they prepare. But no matter what someone brings, it’ll go out onto the table. If you bring nothing, that’s fine. If you bring a pizza, that’s fine. It’ll go on the table. We had roughly 115 dishes last year that came from the community. So just the same as you’d have a small potluck at your house, it’s the same concept just on a much larger scale.
Finally, who would really enjoy the Potluck in the Park?
Everyone likes to eat. So whether it’s local growers or chefs or grandmas who like to cook, we’d like to have them bring their favorite dishes.
Potluck in the Park takes place from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Sun 9/22 at Dunham Tavern Museum, 6709 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Guests are asked to bring a dish of any size to share and a list of ingredients. They are also encouraged to use at least one local ingredient. For more information, call 216-702-1423, visit https://facebook.com/events or email vitalneighborhoodsgroup@gmail.com.
Freelance writer John Benson spends most of his time writing for various papers throughout Northeast Ohio. When he’s not writing about music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his two boys in basketball, football and baseball or watching movies with his lovely wife, Maria. John also occasionally writes for CoolCleveland.com.