Devon gets ready for The Big Lunch with 100 days to go

People from Devon are being invited to sign up to take part in The Big Lunch, the UK’s biggest annual get-together for neighbours.

Today (Friday 21 February) will mark 100 days to go until the Big Lunch 2014, and the Eden Project is calling on locals to join the thousands of communities across the UK who will be holding local events and street parties on Sunday 1 June.

To celebrate, The Big Lunch will be laying on a giant pop-up picnic table in Plymouth city centre from noon until 2pm and inviting 100 passers-by to get a real taste of the Big Lunch.

There will be plenty of food, music and bunting, as well as a huge cake big enough to feed all 100 lucky diners.

The Big Lunch is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and partnered by Halifax, ASDA and StreetClub by B&Q. Now in its sixth year, the simple idea from the Eden Project aims to provide neighbours with an opportunity to get to know one another better. Big Lunches can be big or small and they don’t need to cost much because everyone brings something to the table.  People are the key ingredient.

Roy Endacott held a Big Lunch in Bow near Crediton last year and is urging others in Devon to get involved: “Our Big Lunch was a great success with more than 120 people from the community getting together and having fun in the sunshine. We already have this year’s event in the diary and are planning on creating even more activities for all different age groups to enjoy.”

Getting a Big Lunch off the ground is simple and inexpensive. In 2013 more than 3.65 million people took part in Big Lunches across the UK, including thousands from Devon.

For residents interested in getting involved this June, free packs are now available from www.thebiglunch.com.

Packs include invitations and posters to adapt for each individual community, as well as seeds, bunting templates and an inspiration booklet with lots of ideas and info to help get started.

Sir Tim Smit KBE, Founding Director, Eden Project and co-Founder The Big Lunch said: “We wanted to create the excuse for each of us to get over the shyness of knocking on a neighbour’s door for a street party and it seems The Big Lunch is exactly what millions of people in thousands of communities have been waiting for. The genius of The Big Lunch lies in all those wonderful people who go out and make it their event, each one is different but they share the same instinct to make our neighbourhoods friendlier to live in. Every time I hear about the clubs, activities and projects ‘Big Lunchers’ engage in after getting to know each other, I become ever more committed to making The Big Lunch bigger than ever.

“So why not join in and show the rest of the UK just how friendly communities in Devon are.  Request your free pack from www.thebiglunch.com and join the millions of UK neighbours sitting down to lunch together in their communities on Sunday 1 June 2014.”