Meals with a story: Awbury Arboretum potluck promotes dialogue through food

What better way to start a community conversation than over a delicious meal? That’s the idea behind this Saturday’s program at Awbury Arboretum. 

Neighbors throughout Northwest Philadelphia are invited to come out and share their favorite culinary delights (and taste some new ones) at the Fall Harvest Potluck Dinner from 1pm to 5pm. The event will be held at Awbury’s  Francis Cope House. The organizers are billing it as an opportunity for participants to “enjoy each other’s company, dream about the future of our community, and share recipes, and stories about our favorite dishes.”

The potluck was originally scheduled for last Saturday, but was postponed due to snow.

The Fall Harvest Potluck is a family event hosted by the Arboretum and the Awbury Neighbors Association.  All ages are welcome.  The festivities will include music, games, pumpkin carving and a scavenger hunt along with a variety of potluck dishes.  

The  Arboretum hopes that sharing food will encourage people to come out with their families and share their ideas for improvements for the area. Beth Miner, Manager of Outreach and Community Engagement, says it is important for the organization to bring neighbors together in an ongoing dialogue.  “We want to know what’s important to our neighbors, how they want to utilize this space.  We see ourselves as an asset to the community, but we need community support, we need people to be invested in us. 

Awbury has been a public arboretum in the Germantown community since 1916. Their mission is to connect the community to the nature and history that the site has to offer. The potluck is one of several community events they have hosted this year.

Share your stories with NewsWorks

NewsWorks staff will be on hand at the event to gather stories about food and community for our website, NewsWorks.org.  The stories will be posted in our the new City Table segment of our website.   For more information on contributing

The event will be hosted at Awbury Arboretum inside The Francis Cope House on Saturday, November 5th from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.  Admission is free. To attend, please e-mail contact@awbury.org or call 215-849-2855 ext 25  with your name, contact info, and the number of people who will be attending.