The Big Lunch for councils and housing associations
The Big Lunch is a great way to encourage your local residents to get to know one another and improve community connection.
It’s become the largest community-led fundraiser and neighbourhood get-together in the UK, with millions coming together for a few hours of food, friendship, and fun, on the first weekend of June each year.
Councils and housing bodies can play a huge role in creating and fostering strong, connected communities. The rewards are huge – safer neighbourhoods, reduced social isolation, community pride, to name just a few. In turn, these rewards help to relieve pressure on other areas of the council.
As a council or housing body, you can support the campaign by promoting The Big Lunch and supporting residents that take part. And those that do will reap the community benefits!
Getting involved is simple – register your council or housing association using our registration form for more information and to identify your council as a Star Council. You can also find key resources and advice below.
Hammersmith & Fulham is fully supportive of The Big Lunch because it fits with many of the councils’ values, such as encouraging civic pride, doing things ‘with not to’ residents and being a compassionate council.
Why The Big Lunch matters for communities in your area
0 %
of organisers said it had a positive impact on their community
0.00 million
people were less lonely as a result
0 %
said the rising cost of living means The Big Lunch is more important than ever
Four ways you can support The Big Lunch
1) Spread the word
Promote The Big Lunch externally and internally – talk to your appropriate teams including communities, neighbourhoods, highways, tenancy/customer involvement and diversity teams. Ask them to encourage people and community groups in your area to get involved with The Big Lunch.
- Browse our key resources to find sample text for your website, newsletter and template social posts.
- Encourage residents to request their free Big Lunch pack, full of tips and resources to help with their planning.
- Share our posts on social media and use @edencommunities across social channels
- Use or create a public services account on Nextdoor – a great communication channel for reaching neighbourhoods.
2) Reduce red tape for road closures
If you’re a council, reducing red tape for road closures is a great way to support The Big Lunch. Council traffic managers and highways teams may receive higher volumes of temporary road closure applications for The Big Lunch weekend 1-2 June. We advise event organisers to read our road closure guidance and contact their local council ASAP.
Help reduce barriers for Big Lunch street parties by:
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- providing clear guidance and simple forms for road closure applications
- publicising application deadlines early and across all your relevant communications
- grouping multiple applications together under a single traffic management order if possible
- providing grants for communities unable to meet the costs, or linking organisers to local businesses willing to lend support
3) Run an event in your community
Lots of councils and housing associations run their own Big Lunch events, as well as encouraging residents to hold their own. It’s a great community engagement tool and way to encourage inclusivity.
Our free digital pack and resources will help you organise an event for your residents, at a time to suit you during the Month of Community.
South Willesborough and Newtown Community Council held a community street party with a record number of local residents attending. Could your council do something similar?
4) Cover the cost of insurance
If you recommend street party organisers take out public liability insurance, could you help with the costs?
In 2022 and 2023, Portsmouth City Council worked with us and our insurance partners Creative Risk to arrange and pay for blanket cover for street parties across the city. Get in touch if you would like to discuss this.
Star councils
Council support, to encourage participation in The Big Lunch and help events run smoothly, remains as important as ever. We work with authorities of all levels and to recognise those which make a particular effort to support The Big Lunch, we create a list of Star Councils each year.
When you register your council’s interest in The Big Lunch, we’ll ask you a few questions about your plans, which will help determine if you’re eligible to be a star council.
Housing teams and bodies
Housing associations and tenant and resident involvement teams can play a key role in promoting and supporting neighbourliness. Since starting in 2009, Big Lunches have been organised by housing staff and tenants in courtyards and greens, as well as traditional street parties.
Council case studies
Belfast City Council
Keen to help communities make a difference where they live, Belfast City Council have made it easier for their residents to hold a Big…
Hammersmith and Fulham Council
Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) is one of the smallest London Boroughs with a population of 183,544. The council has been supporting The Big Lunch…
Portsmouth City Council
Portsmouth City Council is a unitary authority representing the UK’s only island city, and one of the most densely populated areas in the UK…
Notes for councils in Northern Ireland
Thank you for your interest in The Big Lunch and Month of Community. If you would like to do more with us or need resources with a more local flavour please speak to our small but very helpful team who are keen to hear from you.
We know that you want to encourage local citizens to feel a strong sense of community and to be more involved in community planning and other local activity. By supporting people to come together where they live you can really enable this and we are always keen to support local people to navigate local road closure requirements.
Useful Big Lunch information
Organise a Big Lunch
Simple steps to help you get started.
The Big Lunch FAQs
Answers to our most frequently asked questions.
Weather-proofing your Big Lunch
What if it rains (or really, really shines) on your parade?
Hold a greener Big Lunch
Top tips on upcycling, brilliant leftovers and community sharing.