On the Table is an opportunity to gather over mealtime conversations to build personal connections and explore how we can work together to make our communities stronger.

 We invite you and your families, neighbors, colleagues, and friends to pull up a chair, share a meal, and discuss the ways in which we — as individuals and as a collective — can, and do, work to make our communities stronger.

It’s easy to host!

This is an opportunity to gather and share ideas for improving the community and region. Determine a location and grab 6-12 of your friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues for a conversation about making the community stronger. You can host your conversation just about anywhere; your home, the library, a park or restaurant, even places of worship. You’re able to host more than one conversation and hosting 5 or more makes you a superhost. The conversations can take place over breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Hosts can cook, purchase or ask their guests to bring a dish. It’s completely up to you!

Getting Started

Registering is simple. Just visit our website and fill out the form! If you don’t know all the details, fill out as much as you can and update us when you have the rest of the information. Before October 4, make plans for the location of your conversation. It can be virtual or anywhere that follows the safety guidelines.

Your voice matters

We are doing this because your voice matters. These conversations are meant to bring a diversity of voices to the discussion of who we are and our vision for the future. Our actions matter too. When we gather, we want to come away with actionable items that can make the community a better place. Hosts are encouraged to be creative. The priority is to spark meaningful conversations with your peers.

Anyone can get involved

Anybody living in Richland or Lexington counties can participate in these conversations! You don’t need a background in community leadership to play an active role in hosting a discussion. You can choose a private or public gathering. A private table will only include the guests you select and will not be listed on our website. If you choose a public table, this is open for anyone to attend and your event will be listed on our website.

After the conversation

After the gathering, you can submit your guest information via the form provided so we can send them a survey. Feel free to complete the survey to share your thoughts and ideas that arose from these conversations. Be sure to look for the community report from us – we will share the ideas and outcomes from On the Table. We’d love to hear your personal stories, so be sure to share them on social media by using #OnTheTableCola or email us at onthetable@yourfoundation.org.