Here at Food Friends we run a meal-sharing initiative which connects volunteers - who are looking to share extra portions of their home cooked food - with a neighbour - who would benefit from a delicious meal delivered with company and conversation. At Food Friends, we’re all about bringing people together through food and friendship. To break it down we: • find people in the community who may be feeling lonely or isolated, mainly through our trusted network of referrals partners, including GPs, Social Prescribers, Social Services, and charities like Age UK. • match those referred to us (our food friends) with a friendly volunteer cook from their local area who delivers a homemade meal—and just as importantly, some good company and conversation, usually once a week. Often, a quick doorstep chat turns into a cuppa and, over time, real, lasting friendships. • ensure to spot any extra support our Food Friends might need and help connect them to useful services like support groups, social clubs, and local health and social care teams. • support Food Friends and volunteers to meet others in their community by hosting social dining events. We currently run two big gatherings a year—think of it like a community wedding, with over 100 people coming together to share a spectacular feast! Our volunteer cooks, armed with saucepans and a little bit of spare time, have shared over 13,000 meals so far. Food Friends began in Whitstable and has since expanded across the Canterbury, Ashford, and Swale districts. We're also excited to be launching a new Food Friends community in Medway!