My PhD research combines the study of community with that of agriculture, rural life, and food to argue that food was integral to early modern society, not only for sustenance but in the way it created social bonds. Moving beyond the concept of commensality, it explores how the production, consumption and selling of food brought different individuals and groups of people into contact. Primarily using farm and household accounts, I demonstrate how food created social links between the wealthy and less-wealthy and how women were important agents in forming and maintaining these connections.