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Community stories

Everyone is part of a community and we want to share their stories.

Tracey and a volunteer wear green high vis jackets at their community allotment. Plants are visible in the background

How Tracy started a community allotment

May 21, 2024

How Tracy found a passion for planting, growing and community connection.
A group of elderly people sit at a table pulling crackers for their Christmas lunch. They're smiling and laughing, and other tables are visible in the background.

A Big Lunch at Christmas brings the community together

October 30, 2023

How a local charity brings the community together with a shared Christmas meal.
An advent window showing a polar bear amongst colourful fairy lights.

How I organised advent windows in my community

October 30, 2023

For Angie from Colchester, spending time in her community is part and parcel of everyday life. The 58-year-old has lived on her estate for…
Bristol Seed Library noticeboard - post it notes are pinned in the shape of a flower

Sowing the seeds of community initiatives

September 20, 2023

Our Community Camp programme (now including the Introduction to Community Action course) has sparked over 1,000 community initiatives across the UK since it started.…

Meeting the neighbours with a little Big Lunch

July 11, 2023

A busy time to move house I had almost given up hope of finding a flat to rent in St Leonards-on-Sea, when I found…
Trays of cakes and buns with 'The Big Lunch' food flags

Apex Lifts bring colleagues together with a Coronation Big Lunch

May 24, 2023

Apex Lifts, London’s largest independent lift manufacturing and servicing company, hosted a Coronation Big Lunch to celebrate their Planet Mark accreditation.
Group of women smiling with large flower rings

We had a zero waste Big Lunch!

July 13, 2023

The neighbours of Farland Way, Hazelbank in the City of Derry have been getting together for The Big Lunch every year since 2011. Their…
People sat at a long table with a red tablecloth under colourful bunting. They are smiling at the camera, holding their drinks up and generally enjoying themselves.

From CIC to charity… creating a new community hub

September 5, 2023

When Cordelia Richman moved from Peckham, London, to a small market town in Suffolk, she was determined to carry her passion for volunteering into…
Group outside village hall smiling

How Diwali celebrations led to a thriving Big Lunch

July 13, 2023

From putting on Diwali celebrations to providing hot meals for those in need and organising an annual Big Lunch, the last three decades have…
Meadow with butterfly

Our community garden has helped reduce social isolation

July 13, 2023

Mick first found out about The Big Lunch when he attended a Big Lunch task force meeting in Dundee and thought it would be…
Wall mural in Rutherglen, Scotland

Pollinating a community in Rutherglen

July 13, 2023

When Eugenie Aroutcheff from Rutherglen in Scotland set out on a mission to establish more outdoor growing activities for children in her community, she…
Group of people around a table outside smiling with their hands in the air for the Belfast City Church Big Lunch

Belfast City Council

March 22, 2023

Keen to help communities make a difference where they live, Belfast City Council have made it easier for their residents to hold a Big…