Some of the best neighbor conversations happen over a meal. A long table, good company, and a little time to slow down — it sounds simple, but it's increasingly rare. That's exactly why the Nextdoor Foundation is launching the Dallas Place at the Table Initiative, a new program in partnership with Dallas-based Neighbor's Table.
Here's how it works: ten Dallas nonprofits will each receive a handcrafted Neighbor's Table — a long, farmhouse-style table and bench set valued at over $2,750 — to serve as a permanent gathering place for their community. These aren't decorative pieces. They're designed to be used: for shared meals, listening sessions, volunteer meetings, celebrations, and the kinds of low-stakes conversations that quietly build trust between neighbors over time.
"Strong neighborhoods aren't built on screens alone — they're built in the moments when people actually come together," said Kelsey Grady, President of the Nextdoor Foundation. "Some of the most meaningful connections between neighbors happen over a shared meal, and that's exactly what Neighbor's Table is designed to create. When you sit down at a table with the people who live around you, something shifts. That's the kind of offline connection that makes online community stronger."
Neighbor's Table started as a grassroots effort right here in Dallas. Founder Sarah Harmeyer has spent years turning that simple premise — gather people, feed them, let them talk — into a broader movement. "A table is one of the simplest but most powerful tools for connection," Harmeyer said. "When people sit down together, barriers soften and conversations open up. Through this partnership with the Nextdoor Foundation, we're honored to see Neighbor's Tables placed with organizations across Dallas that are already doing the work of bringing neighbors together and creating spaces where everyone feels they belong."
This initiative also coincides with a broader moment for Nextdoor in the region: Nextdoor Holdings, Inc., the essential neighborhood network that inspired the creation of Nextdoor Foundation, is planning to open a Dallas office to further support its mission of cultivating local connection.
Dallas residents can nominate local nonprofits and neighborhood organizations through the Nextdoor platform, the Nextdoor Foundation's website, or at tinyurl.com/DallasPlaceAtTheTable — through May 15. Selected organizations will be recognized publicly as part of the program.
If you know a Dallas organization that brings people together, nominate them here: tinyurl.com/DallasPlaceAtTheTable
