Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Juhie Bhatia
Long tables covered with American-flag tablecloths stand ready in the summer heat, as red, white and blue balloons sway overhead.
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balloons → cover → heat
The few dishes that have arrived are tucked under white mesh covers, while two grills sit at the edge of a driveway across the street.
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grills → arrive → street
Small American flags line the path to this grassy area beside a canal and a patch of trees.
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flags → line → trees
The trail begins at a large, dark burgundy sign that reads, “Welcome to Hiltonia, founded circa 1920”.
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that → begin → 1920
The quiet neighbourhood of about 300 single-family homes, well-kept lawns and tree-lined streets is part of Trenton, New Jersey.
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neighbourhood → keep → Trenton
Only a handful of residents are mingling as Rich Green and Julie Kroon, a young couple in matching blue T-shirts, arrive with a bowl of corn and bean salad.
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Green → mingle → salad
Soon, others show up, greeting one another enthusiastically as they compliment the festive outfits and ask what everyone has brought to eat.
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everyone → show → what
As some struggle to open their folding chairs, others step in to help.
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others → struggle → chairs
Thomas Emerick, a Hiltonia resident for 26 years, stands near the food table.
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Emerick → stand → table
Wearing a red-and-white striped shirt, he points to his contribution: a Thai black bean salad flavoured with garlic, ginger, cilantro and lime juice.
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he → wear → garlic
“You know what?
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You → know → what
You can have a social event without food, and you know how many people are going to come?” he asked.
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he → have → food
Now, if you feed them, they will come.”
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they → feed → them
Hiltonia’s gathering was part of America’s Potluck, a nationwide initiative led by the America250 Utah Commission to mark the country’s 250th anniversary through shared meals.
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gathering → lead → meals
But it also reflected a broader effort to rebuild social ties through one of the oldest social rituals: eating together.
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it → reflect → rituals
As loneliness and social divisions grow in the United States, communities, nonprofits and governments are turning to potlucks, communal dinners and other food-based gatherings to create opportunities for connection.
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communities → grow → connection
Experts say these meals can bring neighbours to the same table, but lasting relationships depend on what happens after the dishes are cleared.
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dishes → say → table
The July 5 America’s Potluck initiative encouraged people in every state to host or attend a potluck, with communities in all 50 states participating.
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communities → encourage → states
While organisers had intended it to be a one-off event, they said some hosts are already preparing to do it again next year.
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hosts → intend → it
Hiltonia was one of more than 1,700 such potlucks that took place across the country.
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that → take → country
Dressed in a red sleeveless dress and sunglasses, Lily Knezevich, president of the Hiltonia Association, greeted everyone and made sure things were running smoothly at the event.
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things → dress → event
A Hiltonia resident for more than 20 years, Knezevich learned about America’s Potluck through her involvement with Revolution NJ, New Jersey's initiative for organising semiquincentennial events.
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Knezevich → learn → events
The Hiltonia Association tries to keep people engaged with one another and encourages neighbours to support and look out for each other, Knezevich explained.
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Knezevich → try → other
Food is one way to make this happen.
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this → make → ?
“People naturally like to get together around food,” she said.
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she → like → food
Getting people to a table, of course, is the easy part.
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Getting → get → course
The tougher question is whether a meal can turn strangers into neighbours and friends — and whether a few hours of togetherness can build lasting connections.
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hours → turn → connections
Research cannot yet tell us how long those relationships last, but it is beginning to shed light on the social benefits of eating together.
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it → tell → benefits
Benefits of shared meals
The 2025 World Happiness Report found a strong association between sharing meals and subjective well-being.
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Report → share → meals
People who regularly ate with others reported higher life satisfaction.
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who → eat → satisfaction
Countries where people share more meals also tend to have greater levels of social support and less loneliness.
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people → share → support
A report by the Foundation for Social Connection also points to food and nutrition as forces for social ties, from shared meals and meal delivery services to community gardens.
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report → point → gardens
It notes, however, that while promising, more research is needed.
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research → note → ?
Yet, despite food’s potential for bringing people together, Americans are increasingly dining alone.
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Americans → bring → people
Busy schedules, changing lifestyles, technology and new ways of preparing and consuming food have reshaped how people gather around the table.
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people → change → table
In 2023, about one in four adults reported eating all their meals alone the previous day, a 53 percent rise since 2003.
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adults → report → 2003
While dining alone has become more common across every age group, this is especially true for young people.
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this → become → people
“There's a level of atomisation that people like.
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people → be → that
They like the autonomy that comes with being alone, with living on your own, with not being enmeshed in family or other kinds of institutions,” said Alice Julier, a sociologist and food studies professor at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Julier → like → Pittsburgh
It can be isolating and alienating and connected to depression.
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It → isolate → depression
…and 132 more, not listed.
