Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Standing exclusive-group dinners vs standing community-group dinners--do the former inhibit the latter?

[Jessie Kome (jehako]

Hi-

At Eastern Village, 56 households, we have never gotten a weekly meal going in 
the usual cohousing sense.  We have a long-standing Monday potluck meal that 
everyone is welcome at that usually has 15-20 people attend each week.  There 
is a vegan dinner group that is smaller and involves advance sign ups for 
cooking and participating. We try to have meals after our monthly community 
meetings; the organization depends on the volunteers. 

Because I came out of a cohousing neighborhood with a different meal tradition, 
a couple of weekly meals, and nearly all of the adults take a few turns a 
quarter to cook, I have struggled with this. But after observing the Eastern 
Village community since our move-in in 2004, I have realized that we do manage 
to eat together more than it looks like at first.  In a community of this size, 
there's always a birthday party. Or someone declares a happy hour. Or grilling 
in the courtyard. Or Sukkot dining on the roof. Or a community holiday feast. 
Or snacks and Superbowl. Or beer tasting. Or tea tasting. Or ordering carryout 
for craft night. Or group dining at a new neighborhood restaurant.

A fairly new EVC neighbor who moved from a West Coast cohousing group with an 
active community meal tradition was quite dismayed with us at first and called 
EVC "cohousing lite" (for the meal thing and other stuff). Lately, I have heard 
her talk about our flexibility and impulsiveness.  And I know she has learned 
that we come when a neighbor calls for help. That's a big chunk of what it's 
all about.

-Jessie Handforth Kome
Eastern Village Cohousing
Silver Spring, Maryland
"Where a couple of my neighbors have new babies so we bring them meals."