Brechfa Parochial Church Council has received funding to provide a Lunch Club for 25-30 community members offering reasonably priced food in the now fully accessible Brechfa community hall (also supported by the fund).  The aim was to:

• Create a welcoming environment for people of all ages from the local area
• Reduce social isolation
• Provide nutritious meals
• Promote activities happening in the area
• Provide volunteering opportunities for those assisting during the lunch club

An award of £4,128 funded a pilot scheme which subsidised the cost of each meal by £5, meaning attendees only had to pay £5 for a nutritious two course meal in friendly surroundings.  The Lunch Club is held on the second Monday of every month, its co-ordinated by Alan Munday who is supported by 5 local volunteers catering for 52 community members.  The club has been so successful that the fund made an additional award of £2,547 to cope with an increase in demand, along with funds to pay for a commercial cooker and dishwasher for the hall which will increase their efficiency.

From May, the Club have been providing a ‘meals on wheels’ service for their members to help maintain momentum and keep the community connected during the Covid pandemic. This has seen them gain 2 new members.

When community facilities are fully up and running again, post pandemic, there is a plan in place for Alan, the club coordinator to share their learning and to support other communities that might like to replicate this service starting with Llanllawddog Church Hall, which also received Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm funding to renovate their building.

“The funding has made a huge difference and ensured that we could provide this much needed service for the community.  From a social point of view, people really look forward to our monthly club and were so disappointed when we didn’t run in April that we decided to bring the lunch club to them! Especially for people who live alone, this is an important link to their community. 

Some of our members are widowers who aren’t able to cook for themselves and we love knowing that they’ve had a good meal from us.  We also like encouraging members to try new things and offer a wide variety of meals from different international cuisines.  We are delighted to have served so many local people in our first year and look forward to continuing to do so.”               

  Alan Munday, Lunch Club Coordinator