In the devOps community, we talk about giving everyone a seat at the metaphorical table. It’s a way to bridge the gap between the dev and the ops, but we should be talking about something more tangible like gathering around a table of food.

When we talk about diversity and acceptance, we often hear of examples in hiring and decision biases and not harassing people, but how can we really connect with our co-workers that are different than us? I am charging people to get out of their comfort zone and into someone else’s comfort zone by taking them to lunch of their choosing. It might be ethnic, vegan, or even raw vegan and it might be a 30 min drive, but there is no better way to get to know someone than by breaking bread with them over a meal that they are most comfortable with. It gives you an opportunity to talk about something other than the daily work, and it allows you to learn more about that person and build empathy. It also gives you more insight into another person’s culture and background, and food has been used for centuries to break down barriers so we should use it to breakdown the barriers in our industry.