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Lucy Fishwick shares a story of how the Seva Lunch Club came to be and how the initiative blossomed to become a lifeline for the community, offering not just nourishing meals but a safe space for the people in the community. 

 

My name is Lucy Fishwick. I am the mental health and wellbeing coordinator for Oblong. I support the volunteers who bring our Welcome Spaces to life. 

 

Oblong has managed Woodhouse Community Centre since 2011. We support the people of Woodhouse, Hyde Park, and Little London to feel empowered and become a source of support to their community. A couple of years ago, Lily, one of our staff team members at the time, was chatting with a neighbour who wanted to put something back into the community. Talvinder Singh Cheema had the idea of setting up a lunch club that would ensure that local people could eat fresh, home cooked food regardless of their finances or social situation. 

 

Talvinder started cooking, and volunteers, in particular Becca, Megan, Manna, Maddie and Tanya, signed up to help and Seva Lunch Club was born. 

 

Fast forward to late 2023, and Seva served 930 people with hot meals between October and December 2023, hosting 21 sessions. We have around 16 regular volunteers and a small crowd of occasional helpers who drop in and contribute whenever they can. 

 

The Lunch Club meets every Tuesday and Wednesday between 12.00 and 2.00, following on from our Breakfast Club which runs between 10.00 and 12.00. 

 

Seva volunteers work hard to ensure that the Lunch Club feels like a safe space for the many different people who come to eat. Staff and volunteers work together with centre users to uphold our safer spaces policy and six of our volunteers have recently completed a trauma-informed orientation session delivered to staff, trustees and volunteers by Sally Drinkwater (Community and Young People’s Engagement Development Lead for the Trauma Informed Programme) from volition/Forum Central. 

 

Oblong recognises that many of our diners have huge social challenges to face, over and above the impact of austerity policies in their lives. We feed many people who report complex PTSD, mental health symptoms, substance misuse issues, a history of abuse and adverse childhood experiences, people who are insecurely housed, subject to a “hostile 

environment”, struggling with parenting responsibilities, or feeling alone as they live far from their family and community of friends. Oblong have put an Acute Needs Worker into place to help individuals whose circumstances are impacting on their mental health and wellbeing. She works on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to pick up support work with individuals from Lunch Club. She has worked with 70 people since August 2023. 

 

There are things we can measure and report about Seva Lunch Club and then there are other things, little things, every week; a smile from the eyes, a face losing its frown, a hand gesture that describes gratitude across a language barrier. 

 

 

The volunteers continue to deal with the frustrations brought about by lack of investment in our kitchen and equipment. They held a hugely successful fundraiser in November and then produced a celebration dinner for 65 people in December at a special Solstice Celebration 

event. One of our diners said: “It’s been such a hard year but when I got home from the dinner, I told my husband “I feel joy” I can’t remember the last time I felt that so thank you.” 

 

Oblong’s Seva Lunch Club reminds us of the joy and transformative power found in collective kindness and compassion.