National No One Eats Alone Day:

National No One Eats Alone Day comes on the second Friday of February and was organized by students to create an all-inclusive lunch session where everyone eats with someone else.

Second Friday:

Twitter Hashtags:

#NationalNoOneEatsAloneDay

#NoOneEatsAloneDay

Why National No One Eats Alone Day?

This day is considered a very powerful movement in the United States where lunchtime is a shared time. The campaign was initiated by Beyond Initiatives, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a lunchtime that is very inclusive. The initiative was set in motion by students for fellow learners to help each other look past individual differences with the intention of engaging in meaningful conversations over lunch.

On the National No One Eats Alone Day, every student is expected to make an appearance at the lunch hall, where they will each be eating with another person. Eating alone is not acceptable on this day. Taking their initiative, the students actively invite each other for lunch, making room for the other person and making certain that they will be comfortable. The entire arrangement is intended to foster inclusion despite physical differences, and give room for value-adding conversations.

Other than fostering inclusion, this is also a way to encourage learners to work with each other, therefore a means to promote teamwork and togetherness. This is important in their personal, academic as well as professional lives in the days to come, ensuring that they can work anywhere and anywhere.

This day also encourages sharing between students, teaches middle-class age students how to share with their friends and classmates despite differences like race, color, gender, or social status that their families hold.

It is important to note that this day inspires the spirit of togetherness and peaceful co-existence between students. School administrations in the United States use this opportunity as a means to bringing students together despite their racial, social, financial or ethnic backgrounds.

How can we observe National No One Eats Alone Day:

Some of the ways that we can celebrate or observe the National No One Eats with a Friend Day include:

• Post on social media

Posting on social media using the #NationalNoOneEatsAloneDay is one of the ways to observe this day, creating a campaign and therefore awareness that will bring people together towards looking past their individual differences and engaging in meaningful and value-adding conversation.

• Have lunch with friends, classmates, or colleagues

You can also observe the National No One Eats Alone Day by inviting your friends, classmates, or workmate for lunch, and using this opportunity to share ideas and good cheer all in the spirit of inclusion, equality, and togetherness.

• Donate to inclusion groups

You can also celebrate this remarkable by donating to organizations and local groups that campaign and champion inclusion. Being part of such as system or promoting them in whichever way you can is an enabler for a more just society where no one is discriminated against and that we will be able to associate without being limited by physical elements like gender or skin color.

• Integrate the movement as part of the school system

School administrators can observe a monumental day like this by making this movement and campaign part of the school system. This means that on this day every student will be expected to invite another to lunch, and engage in an inclusive conversation. The school can facilitate this by creating such a lunchroom that is both inclusive and organized.

Interesting facts about National No One Eats Alone Day:

Among the most interesting facts about this auspicious day include:

• It was started in 2012 by an organization called Beyond Differences.
• The objective of this day is to create a lunchtime defined by total inclusivity, in the sense that different people would actively share lunch while they engaged in positive conversations.
• This day was organized by students for students but is not limited to students. This means that the spirit of inclusion now involves everyone.
• Every student that takes their lunch at the lunchroom regardless of the country is expected to eat with another person during this time.

History of National No One Eats Alone Day:

The history and therefore origins of this day has been traced back to the tune of almost 10 years ago. 2012 marked the year when Beyond Differences non-profit organization mobilized a few schools in the state of Northern California to start the movement. The organization received significant support from these institutions, who actively embraced the movement and started encouraging that structure in their schools.