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Salad Days

December 7, 2009

My friend Roz is a teacher. And teachers, she says, never get to eat lunch. “You have conferences,” she explains. “You inhale a yogurt.”

So a few teachers who had the same lunchtime schedule decided that, one day a week, they would have what they called Salad Days.

“Everyone would bring a part of a salad. One person would bring greens, another one tomatoes, another one toppings. We would rotate. As more and more people came, we created more categories. People started bringing things from home – soup, grilled chicken, cottage cheese. One time I brought tuna, and everyone thought that was incredible.”

Although the focus was on eating good food, she says, “It was a nice way to force us to sit down and talk to each other.”

The group was wildly successful. Everyone who could make it, wanted to join. And the more people joined in, the more complex the organization became. One woman developed a spread sheet to keep track of who was responsible for what each week.

Despite, or because of, its popularity, Salad Days remains a welcome break. “We talk about our kids, our husbands. It’s turned into being more social than professional. We get to eat something good, and we get to sit down. Together.”

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