Sorting the kitty for your Big Lunch

May 11, 2010

Author: Tim

Sorting the kitty

A few of you have been asking how to fund your Big Lunch.

If you’re looking for small grants or pots of cash to help out, you could try contacting your local council, housing association or community foundation, or google for possible local and community funding streams. There’s no guarantee and often there are set times of the year for applications which may not coincide with when you need the money.

Another option is to start a kitty with interested neighbours and set up a donations box or run a raffle on the day to recoup your costs. You shouldn’t need to register a community raffle that takes place during your Big Lunch as long as the tickets are sold, and winners announced, at the event, and you haven’t spent more than £100 on organising the raffle, or more than £500 on prizes.

It’s worth remembering that you don’t need to have an all-singing, all-dancing Big Lunch. The most important bit is that you get together, meet your neighbours and start to build a lasting community. There are some top tips on how to hold a Big Lunch on a shoestring below and there are lots more low-cost ideas on our website.

1) Location – if there is a fee for shutting your road, or you are required to buy insurance, there are plenty of other outdoor options for getting together with your neighbours. Any common ground will do, such as a communal garden, local park, library or community centre grounds, pub garden, private garden or driveway, school playground, church, mosque, synagogue, gurdwara or temple… These places are often at the heart of the community so provide the perfect backdrop for a Big Lunch. Make sure you get permission from the relevant people beforehand. Our friends at Greenspace have plenty of information about your local park.

2) Promotion – poster and leaflet templates are free to download and print from our website, or you can make your own and photocopy in black and white to save costs. Handwritten notes and home made leaflets add a touch of personality, drop off at every other door and ask them to create another or pass it on to their neighbours. If all else fails, knock on a few doors, have a chat and ask them to spread the word to their next door neighbours and so on. You’ll soon have the street or block talking and you’ll be surprised how keen everyone will be to help out – often they just want someone else to take the first step.

3) Food – there are lots of options here. You could ask everyone to bring a dish or desert with them, matching items with people so you don’t get lots of the same thing. If this won’t work you could always ask people to bring their own lunch – home-made or shop bought, the important part is sitting and eating together. Why not catch up with our friend Helen who has started blogging about her own Big Lunch in Peckham.

4) Decorations – re-use is the name of the game. Search your shed, cupboards and under your bed, pool the items and get everyone involved in creating and making. You can turn old sheets or clothes into colourful bunting or table cloths, and make signs, pictures or murals out of old magazines, wrapping paper or bits and bobs collected together, add a few balloons and hey presto you’ve got a street party. You might even be able to blag bunting used for World Cup celebrations from your local pub!

5) Furniture – there’s no need to buy new. Bring your own chairs, tables and rugs to the party if you can, if that’s too tricky, try ebay or freecycle for cheap or free tables, chairs, benches and sofas. Use upturned buckets for seats, or covered ironing boards as a temporary table.

6) Entertainment – find the talent on your street, we’re sure there will be someone hiding their light under a bushel. Whether they DJ, sing, or play an instrument, tell jokes, juggle or have a set of giant jenga at home, pooling talents and creativity will keep everyone entertained all day. The old games are still the best, egg and spoon, sack and three-legged races, tug of war or hopscotch, and if you’re still stuck for ideas or a little shy there are loads more suggestions on our website.