For a variety of projects – planning the city’s streetscape, Market outreach, the Giving Challenge – people cook with local chefs, eat together, and share ideas that shape the future of Bradenton.
Why have a meeting when you can be cooking and eating?! For a variety of projects – planning the city’s streetscape, Farmers’ Market outreach, the Giving Challenge – people from all walks of life come together with local chefs to cook, eat, and share ideas that shape the future of Bradenton.
When a referendum provided the City of Bradenton with new funds to execute improvements in public spaces, they partnered with Realize Bradenton in citizen engagement processes like Cook Together that complemented traditional meetings.
Food uniquely brings people together. Cooking and eating together in local restaurants provided an experimental platform for residents to envision public space recommendations to be funded by the city.
Food and conversations in social settings generated richer feedback for both city officials and designers because sessions like Cook Together take people out of formal City Hall meetings to converse and collaborate in new and fun ways.
Cook Together was possible thanks to the generous support of donors during the Giving Challenge 2016 and 2018.