The Big Lunch

Posted by Rebecca Eggleston on July 24, 2009 |

What better excuse to get people out on the streets, enjoying each other’s company and reveling in what unites rather than divides them, than The Big Lunch?

This project launched nationwide in Britain by The Eden Project calls for people to stop what they’re doing and sit down together for a lunch party in their street – all in aid of putting smiles back on peoples’ faces.

This effort to rebuild communities and help knit together the relationships and narratives that bond communities is aimed at encouraging “sustainable living”.

And what more important time for such an initiative than when the “biggest single concern, across the social spectrum, was that communities are weak and people are increasingly isolated from their neighbors”, giving rise to safety concerns, as expressed in a survey of 3500 people.  At a time of economic turmoil and overwhelming environmental problems, this initiative has arisen to focus on community as a foundation for dealing with big challenges.

People are encouraged to not only bring meals out to share with neighbors, but foods they have grown or other talents they can share such as playing music or entertaining.

More