Although they are closed this Christmas so that their volunteers can have some time off, they usually host a Christmas dinner for their community guests each year. One of their volunteers and regular guests told us;
“We can have up to 100 people plus for Christmas, so it’s quite an afternoon. Christmas isn’t a great time for everybody, you know. It’s supposed to be all fun and joy and all that, but for a lot of people it’s probably the loneliest time of year. It’s dark all the time, you know, it’s a real sort of grim time here. So I think for people to have that Christmas meal and get in touch with people before Christmas, it gives people a bit of a boost.”
“The food is always 100% good. They make the best use of whatever they have created. I think one of the main reasons people come is the social side of things with a good meal thrown in,” Terry, one of the guests, told us.
The charity runs a lunch club in central Brighton’s Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, offering a freshly cooked lunch from 1pm. Although they suggest a small donation to cover the cost of the food, they don’t charge anyone experiencing financial difficulty. They also offer a monthly evening supper group for the over 50s, as well as days out and social events. Other services include a befriending scheme held in partnership with local charity Together Co, support workshops, and advice surgeries. For example, in March, Lunch Positive launched a pilot programme of six wellbeing workshops for people living with HIV.
Christine, who is one of the volunteers, told us: “We have people that live in hostels or on boats, and getting a hot meal is really important for them. Also, a lot of people live on their own so company is very important too.”
The kitchen is staffed by volunteer chefs, while some of the food is supplied by FareShare Sussex & Surrey.
“The food is fresh, wholesome and nutritious, and some people aren’t fortunate enough to have that in their weekly diet. Especially for people that are HIV positive because our immune systems are low and it’s important that we get those vitamins and minerals that we need,” one beneficiary told us.
Debs, a volunteer, mentioned how she particularly likes that FareShare Sussex & Surrey act as distributors for some of the small holdings and organic producers. “When they send their produce in it’s always a joy to work with. I have done gleaning with Sussex Surplus so I know a lot of that food comes straight into FareShare. It’s about saving food from waste. I also do community gardening where we grow food for the Real Junk Food Project, but here we haven’t got the capacity to do it. So much food gets wasted in this city, it’s just extraordinary.” 
Aside from the name Lunch Positive, the project is about so much more than just food. Debs explained: “This is a very subtle community of support. I’ve seen people come here having been referred straight from the Lawson Unit (the Royal Sussex County Hospital’s specialist centre for people living with HIV) and they’ve never spoken to anyone else with HIV and AIDS. They’re lost and bewildered and they don’t know what’s what. They come up to the counter and you have a little chat, then one of the volunteers at the front of house takes them and you can almost see the anxiety rolling off them. They’re talking to somebody who can give them reassurance, guidance, lots of care and support, and they know they’re welcome here twice a week. That’s a very special thing.”
“It’s very much a safe space. Using the lunch and the other food that’s provided as the draw to get people in works extraordinarily well. We just try to back that up with the best food we can do with what we get.”
Many of the service users also go on to become volunteers themselves, like Abrahim Smith. “Having arrived in Brighton about a year ago, I was recommended Lunch Positive. I felt welcomed instantly, and, at that time, I was so low in self-esteem and in myself that joining a group of like-minded people and with a similar history to my own was really, really encouraging. From that time on, I slowly built up some self-esteem,” he said.
“People recognise that it’s a free lunch and the food’s been donated. So sometimes at the end of the day, people that don’t volunteer also chip in with the work. It gives them a purpose for that day or a purpose for that week, so that’s really great,” Abrahim added.
“Food brings people together, right? And even if someone comes in and there’s nothing to talk about, there’s the food. What’s on the menu today? That can break the ice and allow someone to begin to feel comfortable and open up a conversation, and that’s really great.”
Find out more about the work they do at Lunch Positive by visiting their website.