Sylvia
Sylvia, 73, lives in Croydon and is passionate about celebrating the diversity and vibrancy that exists in her community. Each year, her Big Lunch allows people to get together to share something from their culture, learn more about their neighbours and spend time socialising.
Sylvia first held a Big Lunch in 2017 when she decided to organise a celebration of all the different cultures in the community at her local church hall.
“I run a cultural diversity group at my church and invited people to come dressed up in outfits that reflect their culture and to spend time getting to know each other. We had 100 people turn up and it was fantastic!”
Sylvia took her Big Lunch to the next level in 2018, when her community joined forces to put on a spectacular multicultural buffet, designed to suit all tastes and budgets.
“We’re all about diversity, meeting together and sharing. I’m from Sierra Leone, and at our Big Lunch we also have people from Ghana, Italy, Spain and many more places. We have all sorts of delicious food – our black-eyed bean stew is always popular and we always do jollof rice and curry too. One lady makes a Union Jack cake decorated with fresh fruit and it’s amazing. People bring whatever they can afford, whether it’s a platter of food or a packet of sausage rolls.”
But Sylvia’s efforts to boost community spirit and tolerance are not limited to The Big Lunch. The retired community engagement practitioner has founded a programme called Wellbeing You, supporting people to communicate effectively with health professionals. Launched in 2011, the project was borne from Sylvia’s previous work combating health inequalities for ethnic minorities living in different areas of her borough.
These days, Sylvia’s Big Lunches at her church hall are organised in partnership with youth groups, the Scouts and mother and baby groups. The fun-filled afternoons attract a big group, with everyone enjoying the chance to share food and learn more about one another.
“The Big Lunch has really helped to boost community spirit – it’s introduced people to new types of food, there’s more friendliness, and our church definitely isn’t stiff anymore! The spirit of sharing without limitation has really helped us.”
The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out toolkit
The Big Lunch and The Big Help Out are teaming up on 5th – 8th June for a weekend of friendship, food, fun and action. The Eden Project has put together The Big Lunch and Big Help Out toolkit – a comprehensive resource for organisations to make planning and hosting community events easier and more impactful.