Over £1m Invested into Lunch Clubs Bringing Older People Together

“A Lunch Club grant helped our group to continue. Without this grant, 25 people that attended would have stopped.”- Balwinder Kaur, Beety Din

Over £1m has been invested into Community Organisations across Leeds that provide lunch clubs to tackle loneliness and isolation amongst older people.

Leeds Community Foundation and Leeds City Council first launched the Lunch Club Grants in 2016 to support the vital work of lunch clubs, food provision and ongoing support for older people in Leeds.

The programme has proved vital for a number of organisations, with over 559 grants made across the 7 years Lunch Club Grants has been running.

For many older people, lunch clubs like this provide not only an opportunity for socialisation and a hot meal- but also a lifeline. They help you forge new friendships, share good food and enjoy a selection of interesting activities.  For some of the old people, this could be the only contact they have all week.

One lunch club attendee from Burmantofts Senior Action said:-

“The lunch clubs are a welcoming place, and I can visit them anytime, or call them by phone. They make me feel wanted and valued.”

Lunch Clubs is an important part of the week for attendees; they meet friends, enjoy chatting, laughing, and feeling relaxed.

The low cost of the lunch clubs allows older people to attend every week safe in the knowledge that participation is affordable.

In 2022, 78 grants were made, supporting 11 brand new lunch clubs. This highlights the need for the programme and is indicative of growing volunteer-led support of this kind.

Shahed Molvi, Head of Grants at Leeds Community Foundation, said:

“The Lunch Club programme in partnership with Leeds City Council has been crucial in providing essential support for older people across Leeds. Its’s not just hot meals that are important for participants- its the bonds they create with others and the shared experiences they are able to have as a result.”

We look forward to continuing to provide this vital funding to lunch clubs across Leeds for many years to come.

Read more about Our Impact: https://bit.ly/3stfDl3