DOI 10.60531/INSIGHTOUT.2023.1.9| PORTEOUS: FOOD, DRINK, AND COMMUNITY BUILDING_ INSIGHTOUT 1(2023)56you’re all right, and offered a cup of tea.[…] You’remade to feel welcome, and you’re spoken to.”(Alex, staff member and former volunteer/service user)Being greeted and offered a hot drink by a friendlyface as soon as you walk into the museum space is asmall gesture, but our research found that our casestudy successfully used such small acts to facilitatedeeper, long-lasting connections and have a transformative impact on the lives of service users.“For some people, being able to come along andhave tea and something to eat is really, really important—from a social aspect but also, you know,for people who are living in food poverty, to beable to come and have that. And for people whoare living on their own, to be able to share lunchwith someone is really important. I think havingthat really helps create the atmosphere, and Ithink it helps people then relax and be able to enjoy[the space/event].”(Rebecca, staff member)The Symbolism of MaterialObjectsSymbolic material objects linked to food and drinkwere also highlighted in our research as part of aprocess of connecting with the women’s museum andits work. For example, a giant teapot used at groupevents was described as“quite an icon” by one participant. China teacups were also important for building community and for making people feel valued inthe space as they felt“special”:“They would feed back and say the cups are reallyspecial: getting to use that proper china is reallyspecial. And we had that all the time, any time there was a conference or an event, that they had theproper china. People rave about it.”(Eve, community development worker)These material objects often held nostalgic memories, especially for older museum users, of crockeryonly brought out on special occasions by a mother oran aunt. They were metaphors which helped to visually anchor the organisation’s core goals around welcome, acceptance, and reclaiming women’s history.Community Building throughFood and DrinkEmbedding food and drink-based practices also helped to create an informal museum environment where groups felt comfortable to engage with materialculture during workshops and events.Rebecca notes that these practices helped to address social issues such as food poverty or social isolation. They also helped service users relate to oneanother and facilitated an atmosphere of mutualsupport, even within museum events:“It’s not a one-way support network, and quiteoften, as you know yourself, when you get a teabreak and you all go into the kitchen and you’reall blethering to each other is when the real magichappens, you know?”(Iris, service user)“Really, it was the cups of tea, like genuinely, because…[…] I felt like it was sort of a channel to talkto people and to get that kind of range of experience. And because it allowed a different kind ofconversation to happen.”(Poppy, service user/volunteer)As Poppy observes, sharing a cup of tea with somebody helps to put people at ease and makes spacefor dialogue. It also created a useful time for staff/volunteers to offer individualised further support(forexample, with literacy or English as a second language) where necessary.Finally, the symbolism of food and drink also becameimportant to maintaining the museum’s connectionswith service users during the Covid-19 pandemic. Asthe physical space closed, people missed the convi-
