Why do companies provide support for team dinner expenses?

I mean, if work ends at 6:00, isn't it better for everyone to just go home?
I don't understand why companies encourage team dinners and even provide funding for them.
Does having team dinners actually benefit the company??
To me, it feels like they were created to take away the time we could be using for self-development to switch to another company.
Is there a specific reason why companies provide support for these dinner expenses?
Is there some other reason?