Take Care Take Out was a community-led project created in collaboration with Fyn Paulina Bonita and Hêja Güler, with support from Gemeente Rotterdam and Dona Daria. The project was initiated by and for the Trans* community, responding to a shared reflection within the Netherlands: many trans people experience isolation from a larger trans community.

The project began as a dinner delivery service during lockdown, and later expanded into in-person gatherings for occasions such as Halloween and Valentine’s Day. These events featured a three-course meal, collaborative games, and prizes from community partners. Alongside eating together, games created opportunities for participants—often strangers—to collaborate, laugh, and engage with one another in an informal way.

The gatherings offered space for participants to see who already exists within their community and to connect across different experiences. Conversations emerged naturally around shared experiences, resources, and ways of navigating medical and social systems—topics that are often easier to approach over a meal than in formal settings.