Hello there, and welcome to the NeighborFood newsletter, a place filled with great food and the ordinary and profound conversations that happen around the kitchen island.
Please, grab a cup of tea and pull up a chair! If you’re craving more connection, but aren’t sure how to make it happen in the midst of *waves hand around* everything else, you’ve come to the right place!
We’re here to talk about neighboring, an everyday practice of showing up for the people in your real life, with all your grief and joy, and letting them show up for you, too. My favorite way to neighbor is through food, but it’s only a small piece of the pie (sorry, I hope you’re here for food puns, too!).
We’re here to talk about what it’s like to be a person raising kids, caring for aging parents, and holding on to the fleeting hope that you might get to have dinner with friends sometime in the next 3 months.
We’re here to embrace Good Enough Hospitality. Paper plates and the scrapings of your cheese drawer absolutely count.
We’re here to share our go-to soup recipes and discuss that book we loved (or love to hate).
We’re here to talk about faith, and what it feels like when the religious scaffolding of your youth no longer holds you up.
Imagine us gathered around a giant sheet pan of chocolate chip cookies to share the joys and trials of motherhood and aging, of faith and politics, of loving our neighbors even when it feels like the world is falling apart. I believe in the power of the table, and I’m so glad you landed here at mine.
If you’re looking for a space where you can be a person who’s still figuring it out, Hi! Welcome! I’m Courtney, and I’m right there with you. If you’re like, whoa, this person feels like a kindred spirit, please subscribe, and welcome to the NeighborFood Community.
So, What’s In this NeighborFood Community You Speak Of?
All subscribers receive regular essays on neighboring and village building, tips for hosting without losing your mind, and our “What I’d Make For…” monthly series.
Paid subscribers ALSO receive exclusive recipes (check out the full index!), baking meditations, and my most tender essays, where we navigate deconstructing faith, grief, and the sandwich years of caregiving, together. You’ll also get our quarterly Snack Chats, filled with book and music recommendations, funny memes, and lots of warm fuzzies.
If you’d like to jump in and start exploring, I recommend checking out these posts:
Dinner as Resistance: The Sacred Work of Feeding Each Other
When the world feels as chaotic and unrelenting as it does right now, it feels impossible to care about something as mundane as dinner.
What I Mean When I Say "I'm Praying for You"
When I say, “I’m praying for you,” I mean I’m lighting a candle on the window sill above the sink, and letting the flicker of my attention rest on the flame as I’m scrubbing dishes or washing a pepper or watching the kids in the backyard.
Blueberry Muffins + A Baking Meditation
If I could, I would reach through this screen and give you a big hug and some super glue to put all your broken pieces back together. I would patch up that hole where your loved one used to live. I would pour a truckload of glitter into the cavern of loneliness or grief or hopelessness inside you. If spackle and elbow grease could mend a broken heart, I…
I’m so glad you’re here! Please leave a comment and say hi + let me know your go-to potluck dish! I can’t wait to connect with you!
I'm loving finding other writers on here who are diving deep into community building, happy to be here!