Mix It Up At Lunch

We will be hosting a Mix-It-Up at lunch event (inspired by the Teaching Tolerance model https://www.tolerance.org/mix-it-up) as part of a new free school lunch program started this fall. The event provides the structure for students to sit and enjoy a meal with peers that they do not usually interact with while generating curiosity about why and how social groups can develop and divide. The event celebrates the diversity in the school and introduces fun activities for youth to investigate “cliques” and “in-groups” and to break out of them in a safe, celebratory context. We are the only high school in the community and with very high rates of food insecurity as well as social stratification this kind of event is a tremendous opportunity to ensure young people get a nutritious meal as well as transgress the standard social boundaries that can harden in high schools. With prizes, treats, decorations and games, we hope to recruit more participants than our average lunch day and start some important conversations and maybe new friendships! We are going to run a small version of the event during our annual Pride Week, but we are limited by our budget to make the lunch a stand out event. We would like to have another Mix It Up day later in the winter with more promotion, decorations and special foods.