Crab Boil for President

We held a fundraiser for the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence last night. As the hostess, I was proud of how it went and I hope it raised money and awareness among our guests. The night before, I attended a fundraiser for Lateefah Simon, who I am hopeful will be our next Congresswoman. Again, lovely evening and I’m excited for Ms. Simon’s leadership.

The one thing these two events had in common was the type of food served: canapes. (I use the passive voice because I didn’t order or prepare the food we served at our fundraiser.) I understand I sound like Andy Rooney or Jerry Seinfeld when I say, “What’s the deal with canapes?!” But I wonder when expensive but insubstantial finger foods became the norm at fundraisers. Is it just a rich white people thing? I remember when pancake breakfasts and spaghetti dinners and cake walks were the way people raised money.

Thanks for reading The Octopus and The Ant! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Last night, I very much wanted a plate of spaghetti with meatballs and red sauce and instead, there was a polenta cake about the size of a silver dollar that had a dollop of olive tapenade on it. How is that an improvement, fundraising-wise? The Simon event, to the hosts’ credit, had shrimp cocktails, steak and lamb, and bruschetta. That stuff occupied an odd middle ground, you could eat it with your hands but then the cocktail napkin was too small to effectively keep your fingers clean. I felt so weird eating a hunk of meat with my hands that I went out onto the host’s patio to eat in private so no one saw me tearing a piece of steak with my teeth.

Even organizations that used to have “rubber chicken” dinners now routinely host receptions instead, featuring “heavy hors d’oeuvres” that are unsatisfying even if they taste good. Maybe it helps get people more drunk and thus more generous, but it leaves me feeling hangry and unsatisfied.

I don’t want to say something rash here and commit to making meatballs and spaghetti next time I have a fundraiser but I’m thinking about it. I equate satiety with happiness and good feelings, so maybe that’s my own emotional issue to work through, but I believe other people would also like to leave events feeling like they were fed not just in spirit but in fact.

Thanks for reading The Octopus and The Ant! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.