In a time when Americans are feeling increasingly disconnected from one another, more than 120 San Antonians of all ages gathered this month at The Whitley Center to do something refreshingly simple: share a meal, listen and learn from one another.
Participants, who ranged from 11 to 94, were there for Generations Over Dinner, a guided community dinner designed to spark meaningful conversations across generations.
Hosted by SALSA (Successfully Aging and Living in San Antonio), an initiative of the San Antonio Area Foundation, the dinner reflects the program’s mission to help older adults — and other generations — stay connected, engaged and valued in the community.
Attendees filtered into the conference room wearing everything from stylish high heels to beat-up Converse sneakers. At the tables, clusters of blue and white hydrangeas sat beside glasses of sparkling cider and water, while quirky salt and pepper shakers — tiny cactuses, owls, nesting birds, Caribbean fish and miniature hamburgers — dotted the room.
But the real view wasn’t the table settings. It was the people.
Each table brought together six to eight guests who would otherwise not likely cross paths. High school students sat beside retirees, nonprofit leaders beside entry-level workers and older adults beside parents and professionals.
“What we’re doing in this room is quite powerful,” noted Jane Paccione, Managing Director of Collective Impact at the Area Foundation, who oversees the SALSA program.
“We’re getting increasingly separated by age,” she said. “Tonight isn’t about convincing anyone of anything. It’s about listening with the intent to understand.”
That work matters more now than ever, said Sarah Davis, SALSAProject Associate with who planned the event.
Across the country, social isolation has been rising for years. The U.S. Surgeon General has called loneliness a public health crisis, with studies showing more than one-third of adults over 45 report chronic loneliness and intergenerational interaction has dropped significantly in recent decades.
Events like Generations Over Dinner aim to reverse that tide – one table at a time.
At each table, trained facilitators guided groups through thoughtful prompts about life experiences, stereotypes and lessons learned across generations. Participants were asked to simply listen to one another’s stories without responding directly. When something resonated, the table acknowledged it with a small gesture — rubbing their hands together, a practice Paccione called “polishing the pearl.”
It was a quiet way of saying: “I hear you.”
And there was plenty to hear.
One participant reflected on growing up with a single mother in the 1960s, something she said wasn’t common at the time. Another spoke about a high school dance instructor who taught her to prioritize what matters most in life, because “when you empower others, you empower yourself.”
Others shared stories of grandparents who shaped their lives, lessons learned the hard way and moments of wisdom that only come with time.
The conversations also challenged stereotypes.
Anna Lisa Esquivel, a millennial who works with Catholic Charities, said people often assume millennials are too busy and too focused on goals to slow down for others.
At another table, JoAnn Tobias-Molina, a baby boomer and SALSA Coordinator, addressed a different assumption.
“People think we’re not tech-savvy,” she offered. “But that’s not true of all of us.”
For many guests, the evening’s biggest takeaway came from simply hearing one another. After a delicious dinner of chicken andpasta topped off with crème brulee, participants said the experience had left a lasting impression.
Joy Zimmerman, 11, representing Generation Alpha, said she enjoyed hearing “some really emotional” stories and felt she had stepped out of her comfort zone.
Asked what she learned, Joy put it simply: “Don’t be embarrassed. You only live once. So do whatever you want.”
Her mother, Melissa Yip, a millennial who found the event through social media, said she intentionally brought her daughter so she could connect with people beyond screens and routines.
“I thought it was important to bring my daughter to Generations Over Dinner to connect,” Yip said.
Emma Moncivais of Generation Z described the evening as “a really cool experience,” adding: “I just really appreciate everybody.”
Timothy Kessler, a member of Generation X, said one of the most meaningful parts of the night was hearing how often people from different generations felt judged by one another — and then laughing together when they realized some assumptions held a grain of truth.
“I loved hearing people’s perspectives,” he shared.
For Dolores Sturm, 94, the takeaway was even simpler.
She said she had heard about the dinner at a restaurant and came because “the togetherness sounded great.”
She summed up what she took away in one word: “Friendship.”
That kind of connection is the type of message what SALSA hopes to foster and spread across San Antonio, Davis said. Because sometimes the most meaningful way to bridge generations isn’t through a program or a policy — it’s through a conversation shared over dinner.
