Food + Networking... How are they related?

As I continue my studies at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, I want to begin to use this blog to talk about one of my passions: food. I’m excited to share my opinions on the importance of food in our society, and more importantly, how food can bring us together as a community. Food and communication go hand in hand as food can speak volumes in any given situation. Food can make situations less intimidating and more lighthearted, comfortable and familiar. Small gestures such as bringing food to a gathering of people or grabbing coffee with a friend are actions that resonate with people. For example, my public relations professor brought a box of fig bars to our very first class of the semester. I personally felt comforted seeing the box of to-go snacks sitting on the table as she explained the syllabus because it showed that she cared about the image she was putting forth to the class. Food lends itself to openness and conversation.

Growing up, food brought my family together. My parents would often make cooking a family event, from start to finish. My brother and I were always expected to help steam the broccoli, pour the pasta into boiling water, or set the table. Food is what brought my small family of four together, no matter if it was just us at around the dinner table or if my extended family came to visit. As it has for most people, food has given me a sense of comfort and familiarity in any context. Now that I am in my second year as a public relations student at Syracuse University, I have definitely missed cooking meals and I look forward to any opportunity to get off campus and eat. I enjoy cooking meals for myself and others, and I’m never caught dead without an extra snack in my backpack.

One of the most stressful times for college students is the annual summer internship/job hunt. Students are comfortable networking online through email or social media platforms such as LinkedIn. Regina Luttrell, author of “Social Media: How to engage, Share, and Connect”, describes LinkedIn as a site to “drive traffic, increase authentic engagement, and build brand loyalty.” College students are quickly hopping on the LinkedIn train, as it is the world’s largest professional network and one of the best places for networking. The site has hundreds of millions of users around the world. In fact, new members are signing up at a rate of approximately “two new members per second.”

As useful as social media can be, networking in person has proven to be much more of a challenge. Why are millennials so nervous to interact with people face to face? According to The Kitchn, “what makes the food comforting when we’re lonely or stressed isn’t the calories, but the fact that the foods we turn to remind us of our connections with family and friends.” Connections between humans are reinforced by the presence of food. Holidays like Thanksgiving are so heavily associated with positive memories because of the positive connections that are made by sharing a meal.

I’ve found that the best way to network in person is to introduce food into the equation. Because food is comforting and familiar, working it into a meeting can be beneficial for both parties. According to a 2016 Weber Shandwick study, the majority of millennials in the workforce believe that sharing snacks among coworkers in the office is extremely beneficial and serves as a common networking tactic. Because this is such a popular millennial trend in the workforce, there is no shame in bringing food to networking meetings before you have the job.