A Recipe for Community

WILLIAMS COLLEGE’S LOG LUNCH BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER OVER FOOD AND IDEAS

By Scott Edward Anderson

Every Friday at noon during the academic year, the aroma of freshly prepared vegetarian fare wafts through The Log on Spring Street in Williamstown. Inside, students, faculty, alumni, and a mix of other local people gather around communal tables for Williams College’s “Log Lunch,” a tradition that has been nourishing both bodies and minds for over five decades. 

Sarah Gardner, the Log Lunch’s program director since 2002, is deputy director of co-curricular programs and community engagement at Williams. (Scott Edward Anderson)

Since 1972, Log Lunch has been more than a midday meal. It’s a weekly ritual where environmental education and local food culture intersect. Equal parts dining hall, community space, and even informal classroom, the program invites speakers from across the environmental spectrum to engage attendees in thought-provoking presentations and conversations while they share a student-prepared meal. 

The weekly talks feature voices from far beyond academia. Recent speakers have included Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Elizabeth Kolbert who talked about about her latest book, H is for Hope; Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who presented a project combining affordable housing and green infrastructure; and mycologist Sue Van Hook, who spoke about how fungal mycelium can be used as a natural alternative to plastics and polystyrene foams. Topics range widely but always center on environmental themes, from public health and agriculture to renewable energy and social justice. 

“My goal is to show students and the community how many people there are that are very capable and knowledgeable who are not academics,” explains Sarah Gardner, the program’s director since 2002 and deputy director of co-curricular programs and community engagement at Williams. 

The food is just as intentional as the programming. Each week, students prepare a locally sourced, entirely vegetarian lunch, feeding up to 150 people on a modest budget of $400. The kitchen team is run entirely by students who manage everything from sourcing and menu planning to cooking and cleanup. 

“I have never micromanaged them,” says Gardner. “I’ve always found students to lead it who are really experienced and responsible, and they love having that autonomy. It’s the only program here where the students have that level of self-sufficiency.” 

One of this year’s student directors, junior Zee Taylor, started as a cook before stepping into a leadership role. She now oversees the 20-person cooking team and coordinates logistics with local farms and producers. 

“I think Log Lunch is the only meal that can bring together this many people in the community in a week,” Taylor says. “It’s one of the few times where you see students, professors, and locals coming together in such a seamless way.” 

The cooking prep starts early, at 7 a.m., with the first shift consisting of five to six students working for two hours chopping vegetables and getting everything ready for the main cooking time from 9 to 11. The student volunteers learn by doing. 

“A lot of them learn to cook when they start working on the Log Lunch,” says Gardner. “They learn to chop vegetables, to sweep floors, to run a kitchen. All those essential life skills.” 

For Taylor, who is pursuing a double major in environmental studies and psychology with a neuroscience concentration, the Log Lunch is more than just a skill-building exercise. “For me, food has always been a really big love language,” she says. “Now, it’s a wonderful way to cook with some of my really great friends on campus and provide a meal for the community.” 

In our fast-paced, digital-dominated world, this analog tradition reminds us that connection can be as simple as sharing a meal and a conversation. Each Friday, the Log Lunch proves that community isn’t just about proximity, it’s about showing up, eating together, and learning from one another. 

Log Lunches are open to the Williams College community and the broader public. The cost of each lunch is $5 (cash only at the door) and online reservations are required. Please go to sustainability.williams.edu for more information and to register. 

Here are some Log Lunch speakers this fall:

Sept .19, Brian Donahue, Professor of Environmental Studies, Brandeis University, forest expert, author of Slow Wood (2025), on the topic of “Greener Building from Local Forests.”

Sept. 26, Arnold Mukwanga Mikolo, Environmental Justice Community Advocate, Conservation Law Foundation, on the topic of “Environmental Racism in Manchester New Hampshire & the Pursuit of a Greener More Equitable City.”

Oct. 24, Tom Tyning, Professor of Ecology, Berkshire Community College, Amphibian & Snake Scientist, on the reptiles of the Berkshires.

Nov. 7, Owen Brandriss, Aerospace Engineer on the topic of electric aircraft.

Nov. 14, Ashley Muspratt, Executive Director, Center for Ecological Technology, on converting waste to energy.

Nov. 21, Devon Nowlin, Project Manager, Williams College Museum of Art, on the topic of new museum’s design and construction. 

There also will be student speakers on the other three Fridays in October. sustainability.williams.edu

On Nov. 8, the 9th Annual Berkshire Natural History Conference, another college-related environmental program this fall in the Berkshires that is open to the public, will be held at the '62 Dance and Theater Center on the campus of Williams College. The daylong event will feature expert speakers, exhibits, and educational presentations on topics including native wildlife, bird populations, and environmental conservation. The conference is hosted by the Berkshire Community College Environmental Program, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and the Williams College Center for Environmental Studies. berkshirecc.edu/news-events/bnhc.php