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Community stories

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

A handmade cake of volunteers from Sutton Community Project having a Big Lunch. The cake has edible models of 9 people sitting around a round table with a food buffet.

How our Big Lunch celebrated our diverse community

February 20, 2025

From British apple and rhubarb tarts to Brazilian brigadeiros - Sutton Community Project brought flavours from around the world to their Big Lunch to…

A group of volunteers at the Love Barrow Libraries Big Lunch are gathered for a photo to show the certificates they have been presented. They are happy and smiling.

Saying cheers to volunteers with a Big Lunch

March 3, 2025

In 2024, Emma from the Love Barrow Libraries project organised her first Big Lunch to thank their incredible volunteers!

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…