At Blades of Green, we have four committees. One of which is our Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The Diversity and Inclusion Committee meets once a month and has the purpose of fostering a workplace atmosphere which allows our team members to be themselves without fear of scrutiny or being perceived as “less than”.
At one of our monthly meetings, we came up with the idea to have an Around the World Potluck where team members would bring authentic dishes to share with our team. This dish could be something that meant a lot to you from your childhood. It could be something your family makes for you when you are not feeling well. It could even be something your mother-in-law prepares rarely as a special tradition from the country where she was born. The goal of the event was to get to know our team on a deeper level, eliciting conversation and echoing the sentiment that our culture is more than what we look like or where we are from. It is a sum of our experiences and the meaning behind those experiences.
We initially surveyed our entire team to see who would be interested in participating. Through this survey you would list your name and the dish you planned to prepare. Closer to the event, we collected recipes so our team members would know exactly what was in each dish, just in case there were any allergies or preferences.
On November 21st, everyone showed up with crockpots and containers full of authentic food. From spaghetti to chicken paprikash to chicken adobo, we had our hands and stomachs full. The menu had items from the Philippines, Poland, Italy, the Middle East, Persia, and even Japan. We shared with each other stories of our food, stories from when we were younger, and our heritage. We shared our why. Why we chose to bring that dish and why it means so much to us. Through this event, we were able to connect with our team members on a deeper level and get to know them beyond our previous work relationship.
This turned out to be one of our favorite events and we plan to expand in the future. It would be wonderful to include even more team members and experience even more dishes from around the world.