Do you remember the ‘progressive dinner party’ trend, where you’d eat one course at one person’s house, then move on to the next, visiting several houses before the evening was over?

Well, this week the progressive dinner party concept is moving online. The #FoodDay virtual progressive #DinnerParty is being hosted by a bunch of amazing family food bloggers, who will each host part of the meal: Bettina Siegel of The Lunch Tray for an appetizer on Monday (yummy spinach hazelnut cranberry salad), Brianne DeRosa of RedRoundGreen for the entree (love the beet and goat’s cheese pasta!), Grace Freedman of EatDinner.org for side dishes, and Jeanne Fratello of The Jolly Tomato for dessert.

Along the way, we’ll be discussing some controversial topics in debates over children’s food. For example, Bettina raised the point today about how much school lunches should cost (and I blogged here about the willingness of French families to pay reasonable prices for lunches, and subsidize those who can’t afford them).

We’re also discussing the goals of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (the organization behind Food Day):

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
2. Support sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness
3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger
4. Protect the environment and animals by reforming factory farms
5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

Something so simple as what we put on our plates is, as this list suggests, linked to broader questions of social and environmental justice. It’s great to love eating, and love good food. But if you do, you can’t ignore some of these bigger issues. And, as the #FoodDay #DinnerParty suggests, the food movement is increasingly going online to have these discussions.

In future posts, I’ll return to these bigger issues, and the potential positive (or negative) role of social media.

In the meantime, head on over to the #DinnerParty blogs, and Bon Appétit!