03/03/2026

Lunch Bunch initiative flourishes at Miami

Lilly Japlon

What started three years ago during Disability Awareness Month as an eight-person meet-up has turned into Lunch Bunch, a monthly initiative now hosting up to 90 members of the Oxford community, and it only continues to grow.

Lunch Bunch was founded in 2023 by Miami University alumni Elizabeth Mangold ’18 and visiting assistant professor Scott Osterfeld to connect students, faculty, and community members with disabilities. Both Mangold and Osterfeld have adopted the organization’s shared goal of “systematic serendipity” – fostering unexpected friendships among community members.

Meetings are organic and agenda-free, typically lasting two hours on one Saturday a month. Community members connect over games, puzzles, and sensory activities, all culminating in a pizza party at the second hour.

“It's a very informal way to bring people together who may not have a chance to meet otherwise,” Osterfeld said. “We're just there trying to introduce folks and to hang out, have some fun, and a lot of serendipitous things happen.”

Both Osterfeld and Mangold credit word of mouth for Lunch Bunch’s continued growth. Through his role in the Family Science and Social Work department, Osterfeld helps spread the initiative to students and faculty, while Mangold’s work with Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services extends that reach to families throughout the greater Oxford community.

Students have also been integral to the continued success of Lunch Bunch. Emma Steiner, a speech pathology and audiology major, received a grant to expand the initiative and help fund games and activities. Lunch Bunch is also planning on collaborating with Best Buddies, another student organization that promotes friendships and inclusion across campus.

When the initiative began, Mangold and Osterfeld funded Lunch Bunch out of their pockets. However, students' writing grants and community member donations helped the initiative to flourish, showing its community impact.

“I think that's the beauty of what we do,” Mangold said. “To have people donate, other people get involved, and people hear about it that we don't even realize, that's when we know that Lunch Bunch is making the change and impact that we hoped to have made when we started this a couple of years ago.”

To learn more about Lunch Bunch and get involved, email Scott Osterfeld at osterfsd@miamioh.edu or Elizabeth Mangold at Elizabeth.Mangold@hamiltonddsohio.gov.