Why we started it

The Eden Project started The Big Lunch in the belief that we, as a society, are better equipped to tackle the challenges that we face when we face them together.

Since the event began in 2009, thousands of Big Lunches have taken place in all kinds of communities and the best part of a million people have been involved each year. Last year over a million people took part making 2011 our biggest Big Lunch yet!

The thinking behind The Big Lunch

The Big Lunch is based on a belief that the world can be a better place through people working together, with nature, optimism and common sense.

• We know that when people get together, we become more positive and start to sort out some serious stuff.
• By simply having some fun with our neighbours on one day in the summer, we can build new friendships that we can enjoy for the rest of the year.
• The Big Lunch is a chance for neighbours from different generations and backgrounds to hear each other out and share stories, skills and interests. We call this phenomenon ‘human warming’.

Take a look at the video below for some examples of the good things that came out of The Big Lunch in 2009.

Make social isolation history

Many of us in the UK lead lonely lives, and The Big Lunch can be a great excuse to get out and meet the people who we share a street, road, estate or block of flats with.

Statistics on social isolation

The stats don’t make easy reading but if we want to turn them around, we need to see them:

• Two million more single-person households by 2019.
• More rich, poor and ethnic ghettos than ever before.
• 7% annual drop in trust between neighbours from 2003-05.
• Social trust in the UK halved and now among the lowest in Europe.

Why we need to get together

You might think a street party is the last thing you’d do to tackle crime, domestic violence, homelessness or children in poverty. But, it really can be the start of facing up to tough issues, as many who took part in The Big Lunch last year know.