Written evidence from FoodCycle [CCI0009]

1. Introduction

1.1.  At FoodCycle, we are a charity dedicated to fostering stronger, more connected communities for over 15 years, through our innovative community dining model. Our work brings people from all walks of life together to share meals, conversations, and companionship, breaking down social barriers and creating inclusive spaces where everyone feels valued. As a charity rooted in the power of connection, we see first hand how community cohesion transforms lives - improving mental wellbeing, reducing isolation, and building resilience in neighbourhoods.

1.2.  There are many barriers to community cohesion and FoodCycle believe these challenges are not isolated to one area or demographic. Nearly 50% of adults in the UK have reported feeling lonely[1], food inflation has hit its highest rate since 1977[2], and almost half of the population feel the UK suffers from weak social cohesion[3]. A quarter of the nation are solo diners – 24% of people said they eat alone 7 times every week.[4] We welcome this opportunity to contribute evidence and insights from our work to support the Committee's vital inquiry into community cohesion.

2. What examples are there of best practice which has positively impacted community cohesion?

2.1.  FoodCycle believes that the model of ‘community dining’ is a key tool in building stronger, more cohesive communities. We have seen this through FoodCycle’s 15+ years of experiences delivering the community dining model directly to communities across 103 locations in England and Wales. We currently serve over 3600 guests a week, by 8500 local community volunteers.

2.2.  What is the Community Dining Model? 

2.2.1.  The Community Dining Model is an approach that uses shared meals as a platform to build relationships, foster social connections, and strengthen communities. It revolves around the idea that gathering people around a shared table encourages interaction, reduces social isolation, and creates a sense of belonging and community cohesion.

2.3.  Core Principles & Benefits of the Community Dining Model

2.3.1.  Inclusivity:

• Open to everyone, regardless of background, age, or socioeconomic status.
• No means testing, referrals or limits of use
• Emphasises equality, ensuring all participants feel valued and welcome. FoodCycle meals are run by the community for the community.
• Brings together individuals from different demographics and backgrounds, promoting understanding and collaboration.

2.3.2 Accessibility:

• Meals are free, removing financial barriers to participation.
• You do not need to prebook your place or use any technology to ensure no digital barrier or language barriers are in place
• Held in convenient, familiar locations like community centres, schools, or places of worship.
• All venues are assessed for accessibility and information is clearly stated on website

2.3.4 Building Resilience through Shared Experiences:

• Eating together promotes conversations and connections, breaking down barriers between individuals from diverse walks of life.
• Encourages people to interact and build bonds in a relaxed, non-judgmental setting.
• Strengthens community networks, making neighbourhoods more resilient in times of crisis by acting as social anchors through consistent community offering.

2.3.5 Sustainability:

• Often incorporates surplus food donations, reducing food waste while promoting sustainability.
• Volunteers from the community prepare and serve meals, fostering a sense of shared ownership and participation.
• Empowerment through volunteering: Gives volunteers a sense of purpose and a chance to contribute to their community.

2.4  How FoodCycle meals work in practice

• Food Preparation: Meals are prepared by volunteers, often using donated or surplus ingredients.
• Serving the Meal: Guests and volunteers sit together at communal tables, creating an opportunity for interaction and relationship-building. Meals take place once a week on the same time and day, every week.
• Creating a Welcoming Atmosphere: The setting is designed to be warm and inclusive. This is done through the physical layout of tables, making it visually pleasing with tablecloths and donated flowers, to how the meal itself is structured. It is deliberately a three-course meal served to guests at the table to let people linger and mingle. This help foster conversations and ensuring everyone feels comfortable and invited to be in that space. Volunteers sit at and eat at tables to support conversation but also to strengthen that it is truly a community event for all those involved.

2.5  What our Impact Data says about the model in building community cohesion?

2.5.1           We collect impact data on the community dining model through guest case studies and surveys, volunteer annual surveys as well as external research (conducted by academics and independent research bodies). The results are clear in demonstrating the impact of FoodCycle in enabling community cohesion.

2.5.2           Last year (November 2024) our guests (n =1761) told us:

• 81% felt more part of their community since attending FoodCycle
• 89% met people from different backgrounds
• 67% guests feel more confident with other people
• 74% says it gives them a free space to socialise which they otherwise wouldn’t have

2.5.3           But its not all numbers. Feedback from guests in our most recent survey also illustrate the wider impact that this model makes:

• ‘’as an immigrant from Hong Kong due to political reasons, FoodCycle let me feel warm and be part of this community. The volunteer in food cycle are very friendly and helpful’’

• ‘’For me a place full of other people is fantastic idea. I am really lonely here I have chance to make new connections and talk to new people’’

• ‘’have met people in my community and has helped my anxiety and depression. I invited my friend’’

• ‘’I feel more comfortable and supported in the community’’

Although not directly pertinent to the scope of the inquiry, our evidence also demonstrates that guests experience other benefits such as 76% who say they have increased their fruit and veg intake due to coming to FoodCycle.

2.6  FoodCycle’s Community Dining in action

2.6.1           FoodCycle projects bring people together across socioeconomic, ethnic, and generational divides. Guests often report that their involvement transcends food. Lee, a guest from Lewisham, shared: “It’s not about the food on the table; it’s about being around the table.”

2.6.2           A Ukrainian guest at FoodCycle Dalston emphasized its role in fostering belonging, even across distances: “We’re all living across London now, but we get a few hours together once a week.”

2.7  Volunteering as a Pathway to Connection

2.7.1           The community dining model is delivered by volunteers from the local community, this is a key part of the model ensuring people from different backgrounds who live in close proximity to each other have chances to meet, interact and find points of connection.
Kelly from Hackney highlighted how volunteering at FoodCycle fosters relationships: “Even complete strangers can make conversation over a meal. There’s always a real buzz in the dining room.”

2.8  Targeted Programs for Vulnerable Populations:

2.8.1           When opening community dining project, we focus on indices of need data to identity areas with greater need. This enables us to ensure that we are targeting people who need the services most, without having to use referrals, reducing stigma and increasing engagement of vulnerable groups. FoodCycle Acton’s focus on mothers and children has created lasting connections. An Albanian guest shared: “We speak with all the mums here, but it is nice to have time with other Albanian women. It feels like you can kind of mix everyone together.”

2.9  Active participation via Guests in community support

2.9.1           This model is designed to create a space where guests feel welcome, comfortable and receive respite from their challenging everyday lives, bringing the benefits of domestic mealtimes into public places.  People are made to feel welcome and cared for, experiences which may be missing in their day to day lives and can enable guests to support fellow members of their community through connection and relationship building. These ‘social eating’ provide both guests and volunteers with the opportunity to make and meet friends, activities which are vital to health and wellbeing and all can contribute to creating a caring and welcoming atmosphere.

“It's good to come not just to receive, but to support others.” FoodCycle guest, King’s Cross, London.

2.10          What FoodCycle’s research highlighted

2.10.1        In 2023 we commissioned research led by Dr Marsha Smith (University of Coventry)[5] into community dining and the impact the model had on communities, social connection and food poverty.. The research drew on FoodCycle’s survey data and additionally a literature review on research relating to social aspects of eating together and the effect on communities.

2.10.2        ‘communal eating, whether in feasts or everyday meals with family or friends, is a human universal… Eating with others provides both social and individual benefits… Those who eat socially more often feel happier and are more satisfied with life, are more trusting of others, are more engaged with their local communities, and have more friends they can depend on for support’.[6]

2.10.3        ‘Social interaction in spaces can provide relief from daily routines, sustenance for people’s sense of community, opportunities for sustaining bonding ties or making bridges and can influence tolerance and raise people’s spirits.’[7]

2.10.4        The social aspect of eating together creates a setting where behaviours, rules and values can be transmitted and reinforced. This model demonstrates that a simple act—sharing a meal—can have profound social, emotional, and community-wide impacts that helps foster a sense of connection and bring communities together in a stigma free and cohesive way.

3. How should community cohesion be best approached in schools?

3.1.  The state of community cohesion currently in schools

3.1.1.  The schools community dining project was launched after exploring the place of schools as the community hub for local communities. Discussions with teachers and academies revealed that the trust and sense of schools as anchors for families and communities were missing. The pandemic significantly contributed to this, as reflected in national attendance rates and reduced family engagement, especially among those from socio-economic disadvantaged background[8]. Research also shows that pupils who qualify for free school meals are 15% more likely to feel socially isolated[9].

3.1.2           Utilising the Community Dining Model in Schools to build community cohesion

The community dining model has proven effective in uniting wider communities and can be adapted to the school environment. Schools play a key role in fostering community cohesion, yet few initiatives focus on bringing school communities and families together through shared meals. Open, stigma-free events based on the dining model promote social connections and stronger cohesion within schools.

3.2     In 2024, FoodCycle introduced its schools programme across three London schools in partnership with the ARK academy. Plans are underway to expand to more schools in London and the West Midlands by 2025. This programme offers after-school meals to families and children, particularly in areas with high deprivation and significant numbers of pupils eligible for pupil premium. We are keen to see more projects like this.

3.2 What our Impact Data says about the model in building community cohesion within Schools

3.2.1 Our initial survey results have also shown that this approach does have tangible effects on community cohesion in schools, in a relatively short timeframe.

Since attending the project, families told us:

• 65% of families told us that they are more connected to the school community
• 75% say they are more connected to my child’s school
• 80% More likely to attend other community events
• 70% Have made friendships with other families that I haven’t spoken to before

‘’It has allowed us to come together as a community. It has allowed us to have some time to ourselves as adults whilst out children play. It has allowed us to budget better and eat better.’’ John Archer Primary London guests Mother

And the schools themselves notice the difference this model of community dining can bring too.

3.2.1   Principal at Ark White City Primary David Williams said:

“We’re delighted to be offering FoodCycle meals at Ark White City Academy. It’s a really simple idea to turn surplus food into nutritious meals, with a potentially far reaching impact for our pupils and families. We’re heartened by the response from parents, children and teachers about how the meals at other Ark schools are bringing people together, introducing new foods to our pupils, helping with family budgets, and helping the planet too. This is an empowering way for us to build connections with our community, while also supporting our families as the high cost of living continues to affect everything from fuel to food bills.”

3.2.2   Glenn Prior, Principal at Ark John Archer Primary Academy said: “The FoodCycle community meals have become a vital space for pupils and families to connect and feel supported, addressing community needs in a welcoming and inclusive way. It’s about more than just the meal - it’s a safe, familiar space where children, parents, and siblings can come together every week, build relationships, and share meaningful experiences without judgment. In a community where a high proportion of children are eligible for free school meals and food insecurity is a daily reality for many families, these meals are a crucial support. It’s created a sense of belonging, we’ve seen children grow in confidence and families strengthen their ties to the school and to one another.”

3.3 Other Benefits of the Community Dining Programme within Schools to build community cohesion

3.3.1 Family-Focused Support:
FoodCycle meals have a profound impact on families. A guest shared, “This has brought my family closer.” Such initiatives help address challenges like the cost of living crisis, which affects families’ ability to provide nutritious meals.

3.3.2 Volunteer Leadership from Schools:
Having teachers as volunteers enhances the connection between schools and families, building strong relationships between families and staff. “When a new parent asks: ‘Can I join? Do I need to do anything extra?’ I say: ‘No, it's free. You can come along.’ and the joy on their face... it's a really nice thing that we're doing.”

3.3.3 Connected communities: strengthen community cohesion through shared experiences and mutual support, encouraging participation in community events and empowering children and families to build school community fostering a more inclusive society.  30% of our families have now met outside of school session to socialise showing depth of connections being built.

3.3.4 Social and emotional development: strengthening social connections and emotional wellbeing of families and children leading to more engagement in school and the community around them.

3.3.5 Nutritional Benefits: community dining model creates relaxed environments for families to sit together and share food leading to children be willing to be try more fruit and vegetables with 85% of parent surveyed stating that their child has tried new foods.

3.3.6 This submission highlights how initiatives like FoodCycle, especially when integrated into schools, can address social challenges, foster cohesion, and strengthen communities. By supporting these efforts at local and national levels, we can create lasting positive change across communities in the UK.

4. What are Local and National Strategies to Improve Community Cohesion?

FoodCycle believes community cohesion can be strengthened through the following targeted local and national efforts.

4.1 Local Level:

1. Community-Centered Programs: Initiatives like FoodCycle foster spaces where people connect over shared experiences. As one guest at FoodCycle Bootle shared, “I like to get to know the people around where we live. The food is a small part of it; I come for the community.” These projects reduce social isolation while building relationships across diverse groups.
2. Support for Volunteers and Leaders: Volunteer programs help build capacity for local cohesion. As Kelly, a volunteer in Hackney, reflected, “London can sometimes be a lonely place, but FoodCycle projects create kind and collaborative environments where you can really feel part of your local community.”
3. Safe Spaces for Vulnerable Groups: Establishing spaces for specific groups, such as mothers or refugees, promotes belonging and support. A FoodCycle Acton guest from Yemen explained, “I don’t have any family here, so this is the place I connect. It’s the same for all the mothers here.”
4. Partnerships with Schools: Schools partnering with community organizations can create accessible spaces where families feel supported. For example, a FoodCycle volunteer teacher noted, “The meals are definitely making a big difference. Families come consistently every week, and children who struggle to eat at home are happy to have hot meals and try new foods.”
5. Volunteer Engagement: Encouraging volunteers who are trusted community members strengthens relationships. The same teacher shared: “I have good relationships with all the families, and my head teacher thought it would be brilliant for them to see a familiar face at the meals.”

4.2 National Level:

1. Funding Local Initiatives: Sustainable government funding for organizations like FoodCycle ensures projects reach communities that benefit most.
2. Policy and Awareness Campaigns: National campaigns should emphasize the importance of social inclusion, showcasing examples like Kevin from FoodCycle Quinton. “When I left prison, I felt really lonely... Now, every day, I meet up with everyone I’ve met at FoodCycle. It’s good fun!”
3. Evaluation and Replication: Policies that invest in research to identify best practices in community cohesion and replicate successful initiatives nationwide.
4. Policy Frameworks: National policies should integrate cohesion-building practices into local authority planning and funding mechanisms.
5. Funding to Local Authorities for community spaces social investment into free spaces for people to gather and services to utilise for community building events such as community dining projects.

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About FoodCycle

FoodCycle is a national charity, nourishing communities with conversation and good food. We are dedicated to making food poverty, loneliness and food waste a thing of the past in every community. Working with thousands of volunteers every week, FoodCycle Projects in over 100 locations across England and Wales create welcoming spaces for people from all walks of life to meet, eat and to connect and build community cohesion through good conversation. We believe that the proven model of community dining is an effective approach to build community cohesion in the UK.

FoodCycle Terms used in this submission

‘community dining’ - describes the offer of a free meal, eaten with others.

‘Project/s’ - describes the FoodCycle community meal location.

‘guest’- describes a beneficiary who attends and eats a FoodCycle meal.

January 2025