By: Maya Hartz ‘30
Every Wednesday, a group of Lafayette volunteers make their way downtown to Easton Public Market—not to buy a meal, but to make one. Meals at the Market, a program coordinated by Landis Center in partnership with the Easton Area Neighborhood Center, brings together students and elders to create and enjoy nutritious meals once a week. Meals at the Market is one of Landis’ MOSAIC (Making our Society an Inclusive Community) programs and creates intergenerational bonds while combating food insecurity.
“I think talking over a meal builds a nice little community of people,” says student coordinator Alyssa Bello ’29, a biochemistry major. She says that one of her favorite parts of the program is seeing students and Easton residents interact.
Amelia Leber ‘29 sautees fresh veggies in the Easton Public Market kitchen.
“As they build connections with one another, both the volunteers and residents get more excited to show up. It’s really sweet, especially when returning volunteers are recognized by the participants who are able to remember the moments they shared,” Bello says.
Meals at the Market is paired with another MOSAIC program, Creative Minds, which creates collaborative art activities for senior citizens and volunteers to work on together while the food is being prepared.
“Usually we do a seasonal craft of some kind, talk to the seniors before dinner, and then we switch out with the Meals volunteers when it’s time to eat,” says Hailey Zuckerman ’27, student coordinator of Creative Minds.
The two programs offer an opportunity for Lafayette students to connect with the greater Easton community. This was one of the founding principles for creation of the program two years ago, as organizers hoped to address both food insecurity and social isolation that can be common in older adults.
Alyssa Bello ‘29, Gwendolyn Connor ‘26, and Sofía LaMarco ‘26 are featured with Meals at the Market participants after a crafting and cooking session.
“Making these connections over food is really important,” Bello says, adding how vital it is to connect with the Easton community.
“There’s this shared sense of being part of something greater,” says Jodi Fowler, associate director of civic leadership for Landis. “Both students and Easton residents can find commonality in that community space of the Public Market.”
The Meals at the Market program also gives student volunteers a wide variety of life skills, valuable both in college and afterward, as they coordinate, plan, and execute the program.
“There’s a lot of self-growth that comes through programs like this in young people who don’t know they have these skills,” Fowler says. “Not just the community engagement aspect, but the skills in the kitchen and the leadership they didn’t realize they had.”
Cydney Fink ‘29, Elizabeth Silletti ‘30, and Ellah Kohler ‘30 participate in the Meals at the Market program.
This program is just one aspect of Landis Center for Community Engagement’s wider mission of creating leadership and community involvement opportunities for students to be active participants in its community.
“I feel like people don’t realize how passionate Lafayette students are about volunteering and engaging in the community,” Bello says, pointing out how excited students and program coordinators are to talk about their volunteering experiences with one another and anyone passing by.
“I think sometimes people are afraid to engage because they don’t feel like they would be a good fit,” Fowler says about volunteering opportunities through Landis. “I would encourage them to try it if they’re thinking about it. There are so many different programs to join. Give it a try.”
If you are interested in volunteering, learn more about the various ways to get involved on the Landis Center website.
