The Big Lunch weekend kickstarted a month of people across Northern Ireland holding a range of community get togethers as part of the Month of Community.
People in towns, villages, neighbourhoods and rural areas across the UK and beyond will stop everything and sit down together for lunch. The Big Lunch is an idea from the Eden project, made possible by the National Lottery, supported by Iceland and Food Warehouse. The idea is that, for a few hours, shyness will take a back seat and folk will come together to meet, greet, share food and fun. It is all about connecting with people in our communities, creating a sense of belonging, a celebration of positivity and pride in our areas.
The Big Lunch launched with a weekend of meeting, greeting, sharing and chatting with people across Northern Ireland coming together, socially distanced and hand sanitized to enjoy each other’s company. Many events have been taking place with more planned throughout the month.
In Carrickfergus, local resident Wenda Gray who is widowed decided to get involved with The Big Lunch for the first time and said:
“I had been thinking of having a Big Lunch for a while and with the easing of restrictions I thought, no better time! I was aware that there were a few people living on their own in my area so I plucked up the courage to ask if any of them would be interested in coming along as its been a lonely time for a lot us us with lockdown and some of us didn’t really know each other except to nod in passing. We got together on a sunny afternoon and what a success it has been, with new friendships made and plan for more get togethers!”
Picture By: Arthur Allison Pacemaker.
Kerri Millford, Ardcarn Residents Group, Tullycarnet said:
“We were delighted that we were able to host our lunch on the green of the estate, our volunteers made soup and sandwiches and some lovely traybakes – it’s really easy to get people involved and creates a lovely community feeling”
Whilst Izchel Boyd from Antrim said:
“I am part of a community group called Libritos Spanish Language, Culture and Literature Club. We decided to hold a picnic at Antrim Castle Gardens as part of The Big Lunch. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday of families of the Latin American community coming together to share food, music and conversations. We welcome anyone who is interested in learning or practising their Spanish to join our group and we can be contacted through Facebook”
Grainne McCloskey, NI Manager, The Big Lunch added:
“After more than a year in lockdown, The Big Lunch is the perfect opportunity to celebrate within our local areas and to get to know more of our neighbours. This year there is an appetite not just to reconnect where we live but also the desire to do something to hold onto the community spirit that many of us experienced during lockdown. During the whole month of June we are encouraging people to do something, no matter how small and to enjoy sharing food al fresco whilst being mindful of covid safety.”
The Big Lunch is an official partner of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 so find out how you can make plans to celebrate community spirit locally at www.TheBigLunch.com