£8m National Lottery funding to celebrate UK communities with Big Lunch

The Big Lunch is hosting six pop-ups around the UK to raise awareness of how celebrating your community with neighbours, during the 1 and 2 June event, could transform lives.

The centre piece of the pop-ups is an interactive model of towns and cities where real Big Lunches have taken place. Visitors can listen to audio clips of people who have taken part to understand more about the event.

Pop-ups will take place in London, Liverpool, Nottingham, Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff this April and May.

Visit www.edenprojectcommunities.com/the-big-lunch-goes-on-tour for venues and dates.

Big Lottery Fund announces a £7.8million 4 year joint initiative with the Eden Project to bring people together and help build stronger communities across the UK
Funding follows research^[1] showing that while 65% of people report strong community spirit in their local area, very few say the same for the UK as a whole, and even less are actively taking part
The Big Walk and The Big Lunch will bring together people in towns, villages and cities across the UK to build connections between communities
National Lottery funding will help to reduce the cost of disconnected communities, estimated at £32 billion a year^[2]
Six interactive pop-ups announced around the UK to raise awareness of The Big Lunch

On 23 February 2018 The National Lottery Community Fund (formerly known as The Big Lottery) committed almost £8 million of National Lottery funding to a four year joint initiative with the Eden Project. Designed to bring people together and shine a light on the strength of communities across the UK, the new funding supports two flagship events - The Big Walk and The Big Lunch – which will connect over 10 million people to their local communities.

The Big Lunch, the largest gathering of neighbours in the UK, and The Big Walk, aim to improve the happiness and well-being of people across the UK by helping to build stronger and better connected communities.

The funding follows research^[1] by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, which looks at how people feel about communities in the UK today. The findings show that while community spirit is strong, highly valued and can be found in all regions of the UK, more needs to be done to challenge negative perceptions and to get more people actively involved in their communities.

Likewise, the initiatives will help more people get involved in their communities. Three quarters (74%) say that being part of their community is important to them, but at the same time less than a third (31%) are actively getting involved or taking part. By connecting people with their communities, The Big Walk and The Big Lunch will help them to unlock important benefits. The survey respondents identify these as friendship (65%), a sense of belonging (55%) and mutual support (49%).

While almost seven in ten (65%) report a strong sense of community in their local area, just four in ten (41%) think the same of the UK as a whole. A third (33%) think the UK’s community spirit is dying out, while 29% say it only comes out in a crisis, which are perceptions that The Big Walk and The Big Lunch are helping to overcome.

Eden Project Communities estimates that disconnected communities are costing the UK £32 billion per year^[2], through a range of factors such as the impact on health and well-being and lower levels of productivity.

The Big Walk and The Big Lunch will seek to tackle some of these issues. They will shine a spotlight on the strength of communities across the UK, providing great opportunities for people to get to know one another and, more importantly, encouraging them to take part.

Find out more and plan your Big Lunch

Dawn Austwick, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, The Big Walk will showcase the incredible work of communities up and down the country, while The Big Lunch will be the largest gathering of neighbours in the UK. These celebrations will help to raise awareness of the importance of strong communities and inspire many more of us to actively play a part.

“This is why we’re excited to be working with the Eden Project to create new opportunities across the UK for people to build connections, spark friendships and lay the foundations that enable communities to thrive.”

Peter Stewart MVO, Eden Project Executive Director, said: “We know that disconnected communities could be costing the UK economy £32 billion every year through a range of factors such as the impact on health and well-being, lower productivity and higher crime. It’s concerning that while people clearly value being part of a strong community many are still not actively participating, despite the economic and social benefits it would bring.

“We want more people to feel connected to their community, but also for more communities to connect and build mutual understanding and support. This is what The Big Walk and The Big Lunch are all about and it’s great to see National Lottery money playing such a key role in bringing people together in such a positive and impactful way.”

Date published: 10 April, 2019
Region: UK-wide

Notes to Editors

Research conducted by 3Gem on behalf of The National Lottery Community Fund between 13th – 20th October, 2017 amongst a UK nationally representative sample of 2,000 adult respondents.
https://www.edenprojectcommunities.com/the-cost-of-disconnected-communities

The National Lottery Community Fund uses money raised by National Lottery players to help communities achieve their ambitions. Every week, it gives out over £13 million to fund bright ideasin communities across the UK. From small, local projects to UK-wide initiatives, our funding brings people together to make a difference to their health, wellbeing and environment. Since June 2004 we have awarded £8.5 billion to projects that improve the lives of millions of people.

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About The Big Lunch

The Big Lunch is the UK’s annual get-together for neighbours, an idea from the Eden Project made possible by The National Lottery Community Fund. This year the annual event takes place over the 1 and 2 June. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall is Patron of The Big Lunch. The Eden Project started The Big Lunch in 2009 with the belief that we’re better equipped to tackle the challenges we face when we face them together. Over the past nine years, Big Lunches of all sizes have happened in all kinds of communities – in streets, back gardens, parks and local community venues. Thousands of events have taken place each year, with a whopping 9.3 million people taking part in 2017 in over 96,000 events. To find out more go to www.edenprojectcommunities.com or visit @edencommunities on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About the Eden Project

The Eden Project is an educational charity and social enterprise based in Cornwall that aims to connect people with one another and the natural world to explore a better future.

About Peter Stewart MVO

Peter is an Executive Director and has responsibility for Eden’s charitable mission. This role includes responsibility for Eden’s biggest educational outreach campaign, The Big Lunch. Peter was appointed to the main Eden Board in March 2012. In the same year he was also awarded an MVO by HM The Queen for his work on the Diamond Jubilee, as The Big Lunch played a major part in the celebrations.