Big Lunch held to celebrate community groups in Wolverhampton
MP Pat McFadden has joined organisations, charities and local councils to encourage people to take part in the Month of Community by holding a Big Lunch.
He hopes the move will help support causes such as Volunteers Week, Neighbourhood Watch Week, Carers Week, Loneliness Awareness Week, Small Charities Week and Refugee Week as well as The Great Get Together and Thank You Day.
The Big Lunch starts this week and included an event at St Martin's Church in Bilston.
Mr McFadden, the Wolverhampton South East MP, said: "I am pleased to be supporting The Big Lunch this year.
"I hope to see people taking part, having fun, reconnecting and enjoying some community spirit this summer."
He said that celebrating community, connections and getting to know one another a little better was more important than ever.
The Big Lunch was created by The Eden Project and now organisers are making it even easier for residents in Wolverhampton to join in, by teaming up with good causes across the UK to make the event a truly moveable feast.
Communities are being invited to take part in the event, whether it is simply to say cheers to volunteers, to connect with neighbours or simply to say thank you.
Since it started in 2009, the event has helped people feel better about where they live, make new connections and ha increased people's confidence to get involved in their community.
Research carried out in 2019 showed that more than 4.5 million people felt less lonely as a result of attending a Big Lunch.
As many as 4.7 million people said that they had made a new friend at the event.
