Three days a week, there’s community lunches in our area. Friendship and food in Hackney Wick.
Wick Award supports 3 community lunch hubs:
Gascoyne 1 Tuesdays 1pm
Gascoyne 2 Wednesdays 12 Noon
St Mary of Eaton Fridays 12 Noon
A free welcoming community lunch for anyone who wants, an opportunity to connect and access to a wide range of community support. 130 hot lunches are served in Hackney Wick every week.
Healthy lunches are planned and delivered by local volunteers supported by Gascoyne 1 TRA, Gascoyne 2 Over 50s Club and St Mary of Eton. Fairshare and the Felix Project provide donated food every week.
Everyone is invited: The hubs are located in fully accessible community halls on or close to estates where there are high levels of need. Lunch hubs welcome everyone and are promoted widely by our friends at Age UK, Greenhouse, Hackney Migrant Centre, Citizens Advice and local shelters making sure people who need to know get the invitation.
Extra helpings: Hubs host a range of activities to benefit residents by sharing key information and advice including; connecting with social prescribers, smoking cessation sessions, access to NHS Talking Therapies, debt advice, energy advice and support, and healthy cooking sessions.
A platform for people power providing a meeting place for residents to explore local issues and develop initiatives. Lunch hubs have hosted wakes for regular attendees, organised collections of clothes and equipment to support homeless families, hosted community conversations about local health priorities and pop-up opportunities to consult on local traffic and planning.
Volunteers make our community lunch hubs so special
“I love helping out every week. We have great fun and always do our best to look after our guests”
“ I feel like I’m part of a community that actually cares about our people. I volunteer every week and get loads out of it. You get to have great chats with nice people. The meals are amazing and I always get a bit of Amy’s cake to take home”
“I come for lunch every Friday to meet my friends. I always stay to help to clean the tables and for the chat”
If you’d like to attend a lunch, volunteer or just find out more,contact Polly on 07482 320992
As well as food and friendship, there’s also more happening at our community lunches.
Wick Award funds a free independent hardship advice project in partnership with Hackney Quest every Tuesday at Gascoyne 1 Community Hall.
Residents attending lunch have free access to support including; benefit checks, help with arrears, support to claim benefits, budgeting support, eligibility checking for social tariffs, sign-posting and referrals to specialist advice and support.
This free weekly 11am session is a hit with people who love music!
There are seated exercise options as well as opportunities to try out more adventurous moves. Viktoria, an experienced dance and fitness instructor, encourages everyone to move it or lose it. Participants are always ready for lunch right after the class.
Celebrating 10 years of the people who make our lunches so special
In 2024 we celebrated ten years of supporting community lunches in Hackney Wick by hosting an exhibition of portraits of our regular lunch guests. Our friend, Brian Whar, shared his beautiful collection of portraits. People who had their photos taken were thrilled to receive a copy of their own photos.
Fridays at St Mary of Eaton. 11am Seated Exercise
Fridays at St Mary of Eaton. 12pm Community Lunch
