BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Christina Russo of Lehigh Valley Food is working hard to make sure everyone has a seat at the table.
- Friday, Feb. 17, is National No One Eats Alone Day
- It was an initiative started in schools to promote inclusive environments
- Christina Russo, founder of Lehigh Valley Food, is relaunching its Lehigh Valley Food Breakfast Lunch and Dinner Club, where anyone can have a seat at the table
Friday, Feb. 17, is National No One Eats Alone Day. It is an initiative started in schools to promote inclusive environments.
Now, Russo is extending the concept to adults in the Lehigh Valley.
She originally started the Facebook group two years ago to promote local restaurants.
At the time, it was the height of the coronavirus shutdowns and small businesses were struggling.
“I ate out pretty often, and I wanted to let people know what existed at the time,” said Russo, "to provide restaurants with business and keep them going during that difficult period."
Currently, there are 59,224 members in the Lehigh Valley Food Facebook group. They also have a weekly podcast and a digital magazine.
"We have grown to that in two years," she said. "If there’s one thing that brings people together, it’s food."
In the group, she and other members will post food pictures from their favorite restaurants.
“People tell me all the time, ‘I’ve lived here for 60 years and I never knew that restaurant existed,'" said Russo.
The Lehigh Valley Food Breakfast Lunch and Dinner Club (LVFBLD) launched last year. The goal of the club is for everyone — from singles to couples, to groups of friends and families — to come together and get to know each other, while highlighting an area restaurant.
Past meet-ups have been at Tacos y Tequila, La Locanda Del Cavallo, blue grillhouse, Pats Pizza & Bistro Bethlehem and also included a Galentine's Day meet-up at Ashley's Signature Restaurant in Easton.
For Russo, National No One Eats Alone Day was a great reason to restart LVFBLD after a six-month hiatus.
"We do have several military wives on our page, older couples that are widowed," she said. "I never want anyone to feel alone.
"If we can bring people together, why not?"Christina Russo, founder of Lehigh Valley Foods
"If we can bring people together, why not?"
The next meet-up will be on Feb. 23 at The Sweet Spot Bar and Grill at 2805 Lehigh St. in Allentown. It’s an indoor golf and games facility with a full restaurant and bar.
It has games like Topgolf, which electronically tracks your golf ball, as well as zombie dodgeball.
The menu features bar food classics like nachos, wings and spinach and artichoke dip.
Popular appetizers are sriracha-honey pork shanks and bacon cheeseburger golf balls, which is exactly what it sounds like. Think of all the ingredients of a cheeseburger, compacted into the size of a golf ball. Instead of a bun though, it has a sesame seed crust and is served with a pickle.
The club aims to do these meet-ups monthly, though there's no set schedule.
"They're not going to be the same date or the same day," said Russo, so the group can "accommodate as many people as we can.”
One of her favorite memories is finding out one person at the meet-up was actually celebrating a birthday with them.
"Once we found that out, we brought a cake out," she said. "It was a wonderful experience. It made it all worth it.”