Our Story

We live in a moment of deep disconnection. Neighbors don't know each other's names. Loneliness is at an all-time high. And the things that once brought us together — shared meals, open doors, public life — have quietly faded.

The Longest Table began as a response to that. Not with a grand program or a policy agenda, but with a table, some food, and an open invitation.

In 2022, co-founders Maryam Banikarim and Andrew Lerner set out to test a deceptively simple theory: that if you put a long table in a public space, fill it with neighbors, and share a meal, something real would happen. It did.

Today, The Longest Table is an initiative of NYCNext (501c3). We've hosted tables in 30+ cities across the country — in parks, on blocked-off streets, outside libraries, in schoolyards. Each one is organized by a local host, open to everyone, and free to attend. No speeches. No agenda. Just neighbors, food, and a couple of hours to remember what community feels like.

We're rebuilding it one table at a time.