Just Food/No Politics is gaining popularity on Facebook

WEST WYOMING – Ever since a hard-fought and controversial presidential election, social media has been a battleground for political views, so much so, Tom Ciampi decided enough was enough.

Facebook has been a place for so many years where friends catch up with friends; relatives kept in touch with each other, and organizations and businesses informed members and clients. And his new Facebook group aims at just that.

In more recent times, political opinions have surfaced bringing everything from spirited debates to downright insults, offensive slurs and anger.

Longtime friends found division amongst themselves, relatives no longer speak to each other and discord became deeper.

Ciampi, who at 61 has been a member of both the Democratic Party and Republican Party, often times finds himself voting for the person and issues rather than party for the job.

He got caught up in all the fervor finding himself vocalizing publicly when, often times, it would get nasty between family and friends. So he felt it was time to scale back and to redirect his attention to one of his passions – food.

Ciampi admits he has been trying to wean himself off political topics over the past few months.

“It came down to this, I’m never going to change anybody’s mind on the other end and they’re not going to change mine,” Ciampi acknowledged. “It became pointless, and I hated when people started doing the personal jab. I respect anybody’s opinion as to why they vote one way or the other, but once it starts getting down and dirty, it’s game over.”

Back in early September 2020, on the advice of his son, Adam, Ciampi created the Facebook group, Just Food/No Politics. Initially it started slow, but the member list as of this past week hit 1,350 members.

“My son, Adam, said to me, ‘Okay, enough about politics, why don’t you just post some food photos,’” Ciampi said. “I was sitting on the porch one day having a coffee and I thought, he’s (Adam) is right, I came up with the name Just Food/No Politics and off it went. It is that simple.”

Realizing turning his attention to other subjects was the best way to go for himself and cooking being a passion, Ciampi couldn’t be any happier with the way the group has been going.

“The Just Food thing has turned out really well, better than I expected at this point,” Ciampi admitted. “When I started it, my wife Linda and I were at the shore and I said to her, we need 200 members and asked her to get some friends to join. When we crossed that barrier, then we got 300, then 400 until where we are today.”

Ciampi is no stranger to the food industry. His grandmother Mary Ciampi started the Blue Moon Cafè in the 1950s in West Pittston and later she and Ciampi’s father; Tom Sr., opened Ciampi’s Supper Club in the 1970s on Luzerne Avenue for many years.

After the supper club closed its doors, years later, Ciampi and wife Linda reopened it for a four-year stint in the mid-1980s.

The Facebook group is a closed group and you have to be invited to join, once a potential member applies, Ciampi himself screens each individual to make sure they are legitimate on joining.

“I don’t want to be hacked. I’m very careful,” Ciampi said. “I look at their profile and see where they are from and if they post food or family and friends. So far, everyone’s been pretty good and I’ve only had to take down a few people.”

Ciampi said there are many members that are from Greater Pittston and Northeastern Pennsylvania, but there are also people joining from around the country.

“There are members from all over the United States and even a few from out of the country,” Ciampi boasted. “I got a request to join from Burma, and I have a few from the United Kingdom.”

Ciampi will look forward to the growth of the group to see how far it will go and how many people it will reach.

Members share recipes, but more are more comfortable submitting photos of prepared dishes of food they are serving.

“I love what they are posting, and the recipes look really good,” member Cathy Fusco, said. “The recipes look simple to make. I’ve posted photos of food so far, but I hope to post some recipes one day, but I really like the group.”

Ciampi’s childhood friend, Don Jacobs, who remains Ciampi’s best friend today, was one of the first members of the Just Food/No Politics, group feeling food is a great way of uniting people.

“Politics was dragging everybody down,” Jacobs said. “Food is a common denominator to make everybody happy, so I was all in and one of the first people to post to the group.”

Jacobs, who is no stranger to the oven or stove, said he really enjoys the group site and loves to contribute as often as possible.

“If I do a meatloaf with mashed potatoes, everybody has their favorite meatloaf but if someone asked if I have a favorite meatloaf recipe, I’ll put in on the page,” Jacobs said. “I love sharing recipes and thought processes and to me, I love cooking, I love sharing cooking and I love looking to see what others are eating.”

Jacobs and others will post a dish they made and once accepted into the group, you can go to the media page and see hundreds of plates and platters of food and desserts.

Ciampi said from Dec. 4 to Feb. 1 there was 1,231 posts, 7,889 comments and nearly 42,000 reactions.

“I love talking food, and I think this (group) has been the best thing I’ve been involved with, period, through this whole coronavirus and political stage we’ve been on. I love it I really love it. It’s a win-win.”

“I love the interaction of people commenting on posts, a lot of people sharing recipes, and a lot of encouragement for each other,” Ciampi said. “It has all surprised me.”