Overview:
Tim Jones, founder and executive director of Longer Tables, joins us to explain why and how he's bringing the community together on July 26.
In a time when division often grabs the headlines, Tim Jones is setting a different kind of stage—one that stretches a mile long. As the founder and executive director of Longer Tables, a nonprofit focused on fostering connection through shared meals, Jones is the driving force behind Denver’s upcoming “Mile Long Table” event. The event, which is scheduled for July 26 on the Auraria Campus, will bring together 5,280 people for one massive, communal lunch, with the longest table ever set in the US.
The vision began more than a decade ago, when Jones returned to Denver after years in Los Angeles and stumbled into a dinner. Expecting a casual evening, he instead found himself at an 80-foot table with candles, handwritten place cards and dozens of strangers ready to talk about anything but work. That first experience was the spark that led to Longer Tables hosting more than 100 gatherings across five states.
The upcoming Mile Long Table represents the organization’s most ambitious effort yet, and it’s about more than just a meal. Partnering with Southwest Airlines, Serendipity Catering and local nonprofits, the event highlights Denver’s diverse cultural fabric, including tributes to Indigenous, Chicano and displaced Aurarian communities through the food itself.
In this week’s 5 Questions, we sat down with Jones to talk about the origins of Longer Tables, the logistics of feeding 5,280 people, and why the simple act of sharing a meal might just be the most radical thing we can do.
Where did the idea for Longer Tables come from?
After living in LA for 13 years, I returned home to Denver and met Cari, who promptly asked me if I wanted to eat dinner with people from all walks of life. As an extrovert, my answer was yes! But when I arrived early with my packaged pasta and bottle of wine, I didn’t expect to find an 80-foot table with real place settings, greens, candles, people’s names hand-written at every seat, and 80 humans, clearly from many backgrounds.
Not allowed to talk about work, we instead shared stories from our childhood, memorable meals and our dreams for our city. I was in complete awe of the vulnerability and authenticity as people around me shared about their lives, which, of course, connected us in quick and profound ways. When people feel safe enough to be real, we realize we have so much more in common, despite our differences.
I walked away feeling alive, seen and full of hope for a city that often felt lonely and separated. Together, Cari and I set several long tables around Denver for years, and when the ultimate separation came in the pandemic, we knew it was time to fully commit.
What is it about a table that brings people together?
The table is home to every single human being on the planet, no matter their skin color, how much money they have or the neighborhood they grew up in. The table, and food, is the center of practically every religion, society, and of course, celebration or human ritual.Â
The table represents life, but is also the great equalizer, no matter who you are. You eat or you perish. So at the table, we are reminded we are all just human. And as we biologically sustain our bodies, we relationally and socially sustain our lives as we listen, share stories and make meaning of life.
I like to say the table is both the means and the end to the world we desire. Every human simply longs to be loved and have a sense of belonging—the table is the way to experience that, as well as the end goal to a loving, connected, flourishing life.
Why do you think this effort is so important?
There are so few places in our world where we can meaningfully connect with one another. The typical places we once played, worshiped, met together are generally declining, while screens, busyness and rampant fear of those different than us are separating us more than ever.Â
We desperately need places where we can slow down, share our stories, play, and listen. The table gives us that opportunity multiple times every day!
We are social creatures, and if we don’t do the increasingly difficult work of connecting with others in real and vulnerable ways, the health and social consequences will prove devastating, not only to individual lives but to the larger society.
When we feel loved, heard and seen, and have strong and trusting relationships, we thrive!
What are the logistics of having a mile-long table and getting 5280 people to a meal?
It starts with having many generous partners dedicated to the flourishing and connection of the city, like Southwest Airlines, Serendipity Catering, the Hispanic Restaurant Association, the Denver Foundation and many others.
Then you need a company like Colorado Party Rents, which can source 660 8-foot tables and 5,280 chairs, someone like Shamrock Foods willing to donate thousands of pounds of food and 250+ volunteers to set the table and serve the food.
Finally, you need co-hosts who believe in the table and are willing to invite, as well as 5,280 humans willing to accept the invitation to a crazy idea that we believe will inspire the city and all who see that the world we desire is possible.
It might be a little messy, but my Grandma’s kitchen was messy, and I guess that’s the point. Together, we will figure it out, and it will be beautiful!
If this is as successful as you imagine, what do you think will be the outcome?
Truly, if only one person walks away feeling a greater sense of hope and connection, it was all worth it.
The real success is the act of setting the table and creating a place where the Mile High City can come and feel like they belong to the greater community. Failure would be to not take the risk and never set the table.
For those who won’t sit at the table, but see a news story or a photo of this wildly long table, they too might experience a sense of hope and see at least one way forward in a world that seems to be spinning out of control on some days.
Our hope is that our city and all those who see and hear will be inspired to set tables of their own—in their homes, neighborhoods, at work, at their gyms, in the park.
And they don’t have to be a mile long! Even two or three people, phones away, enjoying homemade food and sharing their stories. This is the place we believe will bring us back together.