Friday, October 14

04-09 Creating Connections, Community, and Comfort in Virtual Food Communities

Friday, October 14, 8:30 am–10:00 am
Executive

This live event will not be recorded.

Sponsored by the Foodways Section


Chair: Rachelle H. Saltzman (Oregon Folklife Network)

8:30 am
Yeast or Famine: The Social Bonds of Pandemic Baking
Dominick Tartaglia (Florida Folklife Program)

8:45 am
Gathering Around the TikTok Table: The Intimacy of FoodTok
Christine J. Widmayer (Wisconsin Humanities)

9:00 am
Fish Tales and Friendship
Rachelle H. Saltzman (Oregon Folklife Network)

9:15 am
Collective Joy by Comfort Creators: Craftsmanship and Foodways in the Digital Lifeworld
Minglei "Hart" Zhang (University of Maine)

9:30 am
discussant
Lucy M. Long (Center for Food and Culture)

While virtual communities existed before the Covid-19 pandemic, the forced isolation over the past two years motivated many of us to participate actively in food-focused groups. Sharing recipes and information about acquiring ingredients, learning how to make new dishes, and posting photos with step-by-step instructions have long been a feature of foodie discussion boards and groups. Although the pandemic has meant limited f2f relationships, it has fostered a different kind of intimacy; different kinds of connections have resulted in actual relationships as well as the development of presentation and response "traditions" specific to each kind of virtual community and platform.