ROANOKE, Va. – Together with social media, email threads can cultivate connection and a sense of togetherness during this time.

Right now, countless people are benefiting through a new recipe exchange email.

Revisiting the kitchen, during an unseasoned time, the “Quarantine Cooking Recipe Exchange” is a popular new email chain.

“I just got an email from a group of women,” said Debby Doyle, of Roanoke.

"She sent me a really good one, I sent them one that my sister sent me, " said Caitlin Cheatham, who also lives in Roanoke.

“I received the recipe exchange from my college in Maryland,” said Brianna Gunter, who also lives in Roanoke.

These three Roanoke women are joined in a web extending far beyond this city.

"I ended up receiving recipes from people in Denver and Oklahoma, North Carolina, just across the country," Gunter said.

This is how it works:

  1. When you get an email, you send a recipe to the person who is listed in spot number one.
  2. Then, you copy everything and start a new email.
  3. You put the person who sent you the last email in spot number one and put your own email in the second spot.

The turnaround can be pretty fast!

"It is a pork peanut dragon noodle recipe," Gunter said.

"Brianna gave me a frittata recipe," Cheatham said.

"I did a crock-pot recipe for what is called crack chicken," Doyle said.

It’s a way to pass the time, while also being intentional.

“I am at home working full-time with my 3-year-old so having some new recipes for us to do together has definitely added a little bit of excitement to our day,” Gunter said.

And, not to mention practical.

“These recipes are really good at cleaning out your pantry, cleaning out your refrigerator, throwing in all the things that you never get to use,” Cheatham said.