Despite the cramped size of Lopata House’s basement kitchen, it feels nothing but cozy when the Culinary Arts Society takes over. People laugh and chat as they stand at stations, each individual essential to the creation of the perfect homemade dinner.

One pair works on shredding the chicken, another on making guacamole. Two unlucky girls are relegated to cutting the onions. It’s all in good fun, though, and soon enough, a magical aroma arises from the medley combination of dishes.

Even more notable than the fact that this is the typical Culinary Arts Society cooking night is that essentially no one knew each other beforehand. This is no mistake. The club’s president, senior Shannon Gurley, believes that food is the perfect way to connect with strangers.

“Food is memories, and so you share part of yourself through food,” Gurley says. “It is something that I originally bonded with with my father, and cooking with him made for some of my favorite memories.”

All over campus, there are ways to get involved and find communities and organizations dedicated to building unity through food. The Culinary Arts Society has themed cooking nights about once a month, ranging from Mexican to campfire food and welcoming students cooking levels. For many others, it’s even possible to combat homesickness and recreate that homey feeling of family dinners without flying back home.

Home Plate is a program founded by Risa Wrighton that has been pairing Washington University students with host families in St. Louis since 2001. These students spend two to three nights a semester in small groups arranged by common interests and hobbies, enjoying free homemade dinners, stimulating table conversation and other fun activities with hosts.

“I’m so grateful for my family,” junior Jessica Zhang said when asked about Home Plate. It’s given her the traditional family dinner experience she was never able to have at home.

“I never really ate meals with my actual family in high school due to different schedules, and when I did, it was such a pain getting my little brother to eat without an iPad,” she said.

For others, food is a way to relieve stress and make friends. Justin Kransdorf, a senior from New Jersey, has been an avid Home Plate participant for four years.

He fondly recalls his first experience with the program: a chance to “hang out with their dog” and spend “a great couple hours off of campus to destress, relax and have a really good meal.”

Getting away from the Wash. U. bubble is another big plus, according to Kransdorf. Students have the opportunity to connect with community members and become intimately acquainted with their city. Who wouldn’t want to escape responsibilities, eat a delicious meal and explore St. Louis, all in one night?

“Your home is your school now, when you’re here,” Kransdorf said. “…It’s hard to run away from work or schoolwork that you have. So actually getting off-campus to that really plays into that mindset and mentality when you step it away from it all.”

The students involved in these programs have vastly different interests, different classes and different friends and yet they’ve all found comfort and a place in the Wash. U. community through food.

Of course, one doesn’t have to make a commitment to a food-related group. Food can be powerful in and of itself. Rebecca Miller, Wash. U.’s new dietitian, believes that food is meant to be comforting. As long as there’s balance, even fried chicken and mac and cheese are fine. Equally important, she says, are the relationships that arise from food.

“We dine around our dinner tables with our families,” Miller said. “…As part of the Wash. U. campus, you create new friendships…when you eat and you go with your classmates or roommates, that’s how you develop new relationships now that will hopefully last you the rest of your life.”

Spoon University is a national organization that publishes recipes, restaurant reviews and everything else relating to food for college students by college students. In regards to food writing, not many publications cater to the budget and convenience needs of a college student, and Spoon fills that gap.

Wash. U.’s chapter is composed of a group of passionate students dedicated to making people more comfortable with food in the environments around them, especially those of Wash. U. and St. Louis as a whole.

“Food is so relevant to society, especially in terms of socialization,” the photo director of Wash. U.’s Spoon chapter, sophomore Laurel Levinsohn, said. “…When you’re first becoming friends with people, you’re not going to be like, ‘Oh, want to come sit in my room and chat?’ I think that food is so relevant for people that we always form our social interactions and connections around food. It’s always the centerpiece.”

So when you’re home for Thanksgiving, don’t rush out of that giant family dinner even if the turkey is dry. Don’t neglect the importance of 2:00 a.m. waffle runs at Bear’s Den with your friends. And when someone asks to grab lunch? Say yes.