Share | sunny

Food brings people together. Here are some ideas to give and share food.

Give food or make a special dish as a gift to someone who has a new baby.

Invite someone to your home for dinner such as someone you know who lives alone, a neighbor, or as a thank you gift to someone who did something nice for you.

Plant your own vegetable and herb garden and share the vegetables and herbs you grow with others.

Organize a get together with family or friends where each person makes and brings a dish of food to share.

Put together a healthy food basket or make a nourishing main dish for a senior citizen, someone dealing with an illness, or as a sympathy gift for someone whose loved one died.

Share and exchange cookbooks and recipes with family and friends.

Make a family cookbook. Ask relatives for their favorite recipes and put them in a keepsake cookbook. You can make the book yourself by printing the recipes and putting them in a binder or use a printing or self-publishing company to make it.

Have a chef competition with friends and family. Pick one person as the judge and have teams or individuals cook a dish with the judge's chosen ingredients. The judge chooses the best dish based on taste and creativity. Everyone can share their dishes at the end of the competition.

Have a cookie exchange. Each person brings homemade cookies and displays them on plates. Everyone can go around to see the different cookies and choose which cookies to eat there and which cookies to take home in a zipper storage bag.

Invite someone to go with you to a farmer's market. Treat them to some fruits and vegetables that they pick out.

Make a packed lunch for a family member or friend. Make a healthy sandwich, fruit, and vegetables.

Start a cooking club. Pick a recipe theme for everyone to try like a fruit, vegetable, or holiday recipe for each club meeting. Then each person brings the dish and shares it. Talk about cooking tips and ideas for healthy, tasty, and creative food to make.

Make someone a gift of a jar with layers of dry ingredients that can be used to make cookies.

Have an international dinner with food from different countries. Invite family and friends to bring a dish from a country. Make a small flag on a toothpick to put on the food to show what country it is from.

Have a picnic with friends or family at a park. Use a blanket to sit on and pack a picnic basket with fruit, sandwiches, and treats.