Chew on This: Connection Through Conversation

On August 23, 2019, Indiana Humanities held our program, Chew on This, to discuss the question “What divides us?” Chew on This uses the power of food and drink as a convener of people and catalyst for conversation to inspire thoughtful discussion on engaging topics. During this program, the conversation between two attendees blossomed into a love connection. Shari Benyousky, a writer and instructor of communications for engineers at Purdue University, met Antony Garza, a local attorney and literature fan. A month after meeting at the event, they began dating and have been together for the last four years.  

We spoke with Benyousky to discuss the power of food to bring strangers together. “The connections with people who have similar interests but you didn’t know they existed in your community. I’m still connected to every single person that was at that meeting.”  

She went on to discuss how she and Garza bonded over their mutual love of traveling and books. Explaining his love for literature, she told us, “He creates these little libraries, you know, the Little Freee Libraries. He makes them and donates them around the community, so everybody knows him as the book person.”  

At Chew on This, attendees choose their location and are invited to be a part of engaging conversation — led by a facilitator and based on a discussion prompt — with other dinner guests. Benyousky notes the importance of the conversations, telling us, “Other connections start to happen. Then people realized, ‘Even if I don’t agree with them … I have a lot more in common. I can still be friends and have that conversation too, which was kinda cool.’” 

The program provides a model to encourage guests to have their own dinner parties and discuss pressing questions such as “What’s on Your Plate?”, which is the question that will be at the center of conversation at the next Chew on This coming up on Feb. 21. Benyousky said, “The dinner party is good for modeling in lots of different ways, not just in conversation, but this is something that we can replicate in all kinds of different ways in our own lives. It’s very wonderful, safe and comforting to know that that sort of outlet is there and available to people. And that we can still have that conversation even when Indiana Humanities isn’t there.” 

“I thought it was one of the most valuable things I’ve ever done, not just because I met my travel partner, but because I kept talking to these other people that were at that conversation too. It was beautiful, a wonderful experience.”