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This student-led research will assess a weekly lunch that eight faculty mentors implemented to promote student retention for an S-STEM scholarship cohort of approximately twenty engineering students. The faculty mentors hosted the students by providing simple home-cooked meals, which helped reduce food insecurity among the cohort while providing a venue for professional development. These lunches also provided an informal way for the faculty to connect with the students while fostering peer-to-peer relationships. The weekly lunch was initiated in the winter quarter of the first year of study for the participating students. As students moved into their sophomore year and began to enroll in separate, major-specific courses, the lunches helped to preserve previously formed relationships and group identity. While the weekly lunches focused on social interaction and provided a relaxed environment for catching up, each lunch included professional development “nuggets” strategically timed to increase impact. Example activities included the initial introduction of faculty mentors, talks from Ph.D. students, ambassadors from student organizations, discussions about academic success, interview skills in preparation for upcoming university career fairs, and research opportunities for undergraduates. This paper quantifies the impact of the lunches on professional development, group identity and belonging, connections with faculty mentors, and academic success using a 25-question survey. The survey includes Likert scale questions, yes/no/unsure questions, and open-ended discussion questions. While survey results show that students enjoy the lunches and believe the social and professional support activities are beneficial, the results are mixed on whether or not the lunches play a role in their decision to remain in an engineering major.