America’s Sunday Supper

by Katie Grills, Community Relations VISTA

Theatre Action Project got to play a small part in planning the first local America’s Sunday Supper event in Austin to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Sunday Supper is a national night of conversation that was started two years ago to honor the spirit of Dr. King. It’s a night to come together as a community and really get to the crux of what our world needs to be a better place. The goal of this first Sunday Supper was to ignite a community conversation about food insecurity.

One of my favorite aspects of the night was the Pie Potluck sponsored by Peace through Pie. Over 60 individual participants brought delicious pies ranging from savory Jamaican Jerk Hand Pies to scrumptious Chocolate Pecan pie. Conversation leaders from community farms and other food-based organizations led informal discussion groups in substantive conversations about what food insecurities exist in our community, how to combat those issues, and what next steps could be taken to bridge the gap of food insecurity.

Many people came together to creatively express concern about hunger through delicious, homemade pies. Each pie had a story to tell about the person that made it written on a note card, so we all got to share in the tradition of that specific recipe. We were very lucky to share in the bounty of the night while remembering that others might not be quite as lucky, and that we must figure out creative ways to battle this problem.

Special thanks to Trinity United Methodist Church for hosting the event, as well as the many partners that made the night a success: AHB Community School, Center for Inquiry Austin, The Griffin School, Hope Food Pantry Austin, Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, Peace through Pie, and our many conversation starters.

We also appreciate Raychel Deppe from Applebox Imaging for her photographs of the night.