About

New Yorkers Uniting One Meal at a Time

Breaking Bread, Building Bonds is a citywide initiative from Mayor Eric Adams which aims to help end hate by bringing people together to see common bonds. This initiative is being led by the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes and the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit. Breaking Bread, Building Bonds is determined to organize one thousand meals and conversations across the city, starting in early 2023, with ten everyday people from New York City's diverse communities.

Hate is a virus, fueled by uneducated fear and failure to see common bonds. We have collectively forgotten the lessons that history taught on hate's terrible power. Time after time in history, societies have suffered from hateful propaganda that pit communities against another. As hate crimes in New York City continue to rise year after year, we must be clear: We are all in this together; there is more that bonds us than divides us.

The goal of these dinners is to foster an environment where every day New Yorkers from diverse backgrounds, can meet and learn from one another. New York City is a unique living model of diversity and intersectionality. Our neighbors are Black and White, Latino and Asian, Jewish and Christian, Muslim and Buddhist, gay and straight, transgender and cisgender.

Each one of us represent an intersection of different identities and communities. We need to see ourselves in each other. The challenges we face as New Yorkers are faced together, from public safety to access to affordable housing and health care. We won't succeed until we all succeed.

Breaking Bread, Building Bonds has been organized in partnership with the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) and several community-based organizations.

Sign-up to host or attend a dinner

To view previous locations that have hosted Breaking Bread, Building Bonds meals, please explore the map below!