One High School’s Lunch Club Makes Sure That No One Sits Alone

Lunchtime can be scary in high school, especially if you aren’t part of a clique.

These four high schoolers from Boca Raton, Florida are making it their mission to end that stereotype. Denis Estimon, Jean Max Meradieu, Kinsley Florestal and Allie Sealy formed We Dine Together, which invites everyone to come sit with them at lunch.

Denis, Jean and Kinsley are all Haitian immigrants. They sat alone many times during lunch when they got to the states in elementary school. Jean told the Sun Sentinel that he would watch kids having fun without him. “I always understood I had to go to school, but I didn’t want to go to school because I was so isolated from everybody,” he said.

The four friends have all experienced their own form of isolation and it was peaked during lunchtime. Now more than 60 students gather on Tuesdays to eat together. The group offers a sense of belonging to a lot of kids who didn’t feel like they belong.

We Dine Together has a diverse mix of students who eat lunch together, allowing friendships to form that otherwise wouldn’t.

Since the start of the organization, which started through word of mouth and flyers, the club is going nationwide. According to the Daily Mail, they are planning on launching another 150 chapters in 2018.