Building Community, One Shared Meal at a Time with Catherine Spanger

When was the last time you walked into a room and felt that someone was truly glad you were there?

In this episode of #SoRelatable, Susan Regan talks with Catherine Spanger, co-founder of Berkeley’s Three Stone Hearth cooperative kitchen, about creating that feeling through shared meals, everyday hospitality, and the simple act of showing up consistently.

Catherine shares how a recurring breakfast gathering began with about 18 people and grew to an invitation list of 145. Along the way, she discovered how much it matters to welcome people with different perspectives and let them know their presence counts.

Susan and Catherine explore the relationship between community and belonging, the pleasure of using what we already have, and the small ways we can reconnect with the people around us. From sharing fruit from a neighbor’s yard to putting phones away at the table, their conversation invites us to make more room for one another in everyday life.

In this episode:

• How a simple breakfast became a recurring community gathering

• Why consistency helps people know there is a place for them

• Welcoming people across differences

• Making others feel noticed and valued

• Sharing food, resources, and everyday skills

• Bringing more presence to our time together

A question to take with you: What is one small invitation you could extend this week?

If this conversation brings someone to mind, share it with them. Follow #SoRelatable for more conversations about relationships, self-understanding, and connection.

About Catherine

Catherine Spanger is a co-founder of Berkeley’s Three Stone Hearth cooperative kitchen. Drawing on a background in cooking and community gatherings, she brings people together through shared meals, classes, and everyday hospitality, with an emphasis on helping people feel seen and welcome.

Book mentioned
We Fancy: Simple Recipes to Make the Everyday Special by Jerrelle Guy:
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-Fancy/Jerrelle-Guy/9781668012840

Related community resource
How to Build Community poster — Syracuse Cultural Workers:
https://syracuseculturalworkers.com/products/poster-how-to-build-community

More About Our Guest

Catherine Spanger brings a lifelong interest in food, resourcefulness, and hospitality to her work creating community. She is a co-founder of Three Stone Hearth, a cooperative kitchen established in Berkeley, California, in 2006, where shared food and community participation were central to the founding vision.

Her approach began with family. Growing up in the East Bay, Catherine learned from grandparents who farmed in Brentwood and a grandmother whose experience of the Dust Bowl shaped her commitment to living modestly and making thoughtful use of available resources. Travels abroad deepened Catherine’s appreciation for the ways food connects people to family, culture, and place.

Her professional background includes cooking at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco and for Bay Area catering companies, along with work in water conservation. In 2007, she joined her fellow Three Stone Hearth co-founders as a presenter at the Weston A. Price Foundation’s annual conference for a session on “Setting Up a Community Kitchen.” She holds a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

In her conversation with Susan Regan, Catherine shares how she carries these interests into recurring breakfasts, shared meals, and classes that bring neighbors together. Her gatherings emphasize consistency, curiosity, and a personal welcome—creating opportunities for people with different perspectives to connect and feel that their presence matters.

Through food and everyday hospitality, Catherine encourages people to recognize what they already have to offer: a skill, a meal, a little time, or an invitation that makes room for someone else.