Having the opportunity to go out for a three-course meal is a bit of a luxury. But a community project in Twerton is giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy a restaurant-standard meal every Thursday night – completely free of charge.
The Thursday Night Dinner started in December last year, and is run by the Bath Community Kitchen, and has been supported by a £500 Curo Communities Grant. Rob Lewis, one of the co-founders and Directors of the Bath Community Kitchen, says, “We wanted to create an opportunity for people to be able to go out together and eat together, and enjoy a delicious and nutritious meal – but also something that isn’t exclusive and isn’t expensive.
“We use surplus food that otherwise would have been thrown away by shops and supermarkets, so not only are we helping to tackle food poverty, but also food waste.”
The Thursday night dinner takes place each week at the Lighthouse Centre at 6.30pm. There’s no need to book, and everyone is welcome.
“We’re finding that there are certain barriers that are stopping people from coming along,” says Rob. “They don’t trust us and think there must be a religious element or something like that, or they think there is some stigma to coming to a free event. But there’s really no need to be suspicious, or to feel that way. This really is just a way of helping to bring a community together, and to prevent food waste.
“We usually have around 20 or 30 guests, and it’s a real mix of people, from families, to older members of the community, which I think is really important.
“In a world where people have become very polarised it’s good to sit and talk to people that you might not otherwise come into contact with, whether that’s because they come from a different background to you, or have different opinions on politics or religion, or for any other reason. These meals are a really good forum for that to take place.”
You can find out more about the Bath Community Kitchen at bathcommunitykitchen.org.uk