Community Snapshot: Lunch Club Brings Warmth and Connection Every Wednesday
Hosted at our community centre on the Minerva Estate, Bethnal Green, a weekly Lunch Club provides space for residents to come together, share a meal, and enjoy some friendly conversation.
Meeting every Wednesday, the club provides soup, tea, toast and more, as well as a chance to catch up with familiar faces from across the estate and the local area. Originally set up as a warm hub in 2023 as household bills rose, the Lunch Club offered respite from the cold but quickly became a social gathering to look forward to for attendees.
After seeing the connections, it began, our Community Development team, Andy Coleborn and Shema Khanam , decided to continue the initiative, serving over 350 warm meals since its launch.
The Lunch club is one of the highlights of my week and we're pleased keep it going with help from Greener Solutions. Most of our group is made up of residents from the Minerva estate, but we’re happy to welcome anyone who wants to join us. We've had people drop in now and then, which is always nice. One thing I've really noticed over the last couple of years is how strong our sense of community is. The folks in our group genuinely care for each other and look out for one another. — Andy, THCH Community Development Team
Initially supported by funding from Capsticks, the Lunch Club has received renewed backing for another year from Greener Solutions, ensuring that weekly meetings can continue.
Greener Solutions, a family-run supplier of caretaking products, was inspired to support the Lunch Club by its commitment to promoting healthy eating habits and fostering community engagement.
The club has been important in combatting social isolation for older residents in the community. Regular attendee, David, was recently taken to hospital. Always first to turn up at the club, when he wasn’t there, alarm bells rang. Shema, and Lunch Club attendee Ron, went to knock on David’s door.
They received no response and after speaking to neighbours and local churches, no one had seen him.
It was unusual for David not to show up, so we wanted to make sure he was okay. I know that David doesn't really have a network, other than our lunch club and attending a local church so we were quite concerned. — Shema, THCH Community Development Team
They called the Royal London Hospital, and after a few hours were contacted with news that David had been admitted and was OK. Shema visited David and as he got back on his feet, she helped him over to the Lunch Club each week.
Without the Lunch Club, David might not have had a network of people that were concerned for his safety. This is why community groups like these are important.
If you’re interested in joining the Lunch Club – you’re welcome to! Anyone can attend. Just head down at 11AM every Wednesday. You can hear from Andy, Shema and attendees of the club in the video below.
Do you want us to shine a light on your community story? Get in touch with us at internalcomms@thch.org.uk We’d love to hear about it.