The Big Fairtrade Lunch

The Big Lunch is an Eden Project initiative designed to bring about Human Warming – the glow that comes from simple acts of sharing and celebrating what it is to be human. The Eden Project philosophy aims to highlight our total dependence on the natural world (without preaching!) and encourage everyone to explore the boundaries of what is currently called sustainable living. Their programmes and events are based on the belief that the challenges facing humanity are also opportunities to bring out the best in people.

The Fairtrade Foundation is proud to support the Big Lunch and shares the belief that ordinary people and ordinary acts do bring about positive change. Fairtrade is about people working together and using choice to change the way trade works.

On 19 July 2009 Garstang Fairtrade Town linked up with Media, the first Fairtrade Town in America and New Koforidua, a cocoa farming community in Ghana, for a simultaneous Big Fairtrade and local Lunch recognising that farmers everywhere deserve a fair deal and that communities across the world are connected. Fairtrade helps to make these connections positive, bringing farmers and shoppers closer together and putting people back at the heart of the transaction. That’s why we need you to make Fairtrade part of your local Big Lunch!

Make Fairtrade part of your local Big Lunch by bringing Fairtrade goodies to share and flying the flag for Fairtrade with bunting, balloons and maybe the odd inflatable banana. Read on and then visit The Big Lunch for more information, great ideas and to search for a Big Lunch taking place at a postcode near you.

If there’s no Big Lunch near you, why not get the ball rolling? Bring together fellow Fairtrade fanatics and neighbours for a Big Fairtrade Lunch, invite people to bring their favourite Fairtrade goodies to share or set down a challenge for the recipe with the most Fairtrade ingredients. Make your street a Fairground for the day with a Fairtrade Coconut Shy and Fairtrade cotton sock throwing contests. Or why not organise a five-a-side street footie tournament with Fairtrade footballs? Find out all you need to know to plan a Big Lunch here and read on for recipes and activities to help create a special Big Fairtrade Lunch.

What you need:

• Fairtrade quinoa
• Handful of Fairtrade cashew nuts
• Two ripe Fairtrade avocados
• Half a Fairtrade lime
• Fairtrade olive oil
• Teaspoon of Fairtrade honey

What you do:

Cook as much Fairtrade quinoa as you need in boiling water for about 10 minutes (super simple – easier than rice) and leave to cool. Just before heading out to your Big Lunch, slice the Fairtrade avocadoes and bang the cashew nuts about a bit with a rolling pin. Add to the quinoa, feel proud and make the dressing. Squeeze the lime juice into a quarter of a cup of Fairtrade olive oil, add the honey and mix well. Drizzle the dressing over the salad just before serving with a crunchy baguette.

What you need (only serves four so maybe double or triple up!)

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 60g (20z) green olives
• 2 small red onions, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 120ml (4fl oz) Fairtrade olive oil
• 120ml (4fl oz) white wine vinegar
• Juice of one Fairtrade lime
• Salt and Fairtrade black pepper to taste
• 1kg (2 1/4lb) very green, underripe Fairtrade bananas

What you do:

Mix garlic, olives, onion, bay leaf, Fairtrade olive oil, vinegar, Fairtrade lime juice, salt, and Fairtrade black pepper in a large bowl and leave them to get to know each other. Boil a large pot of water while you cut the ends from the green bananas and slit the peel lengthways. Boil the bananas with the peel still on for a few minutes until they are soft, yet firm. Drain the bananas and pop them into icy water until they are completely cold (about 5 minutes). Peel the bananas and cut them into 2.5 cm (1in) rounds. Chuck the banana rounds into the garlic and onion mixture and toss to coat well. If you’re green fingered and grow your own, sliced tomato and lettuce make this salad even more of a meal. Sprinkle with sliced red onion.

What you need

• Cubes of your favourite local cheese
• One Fairtrade pineapple
• Bunch of Fairtrade grapes
• ‘Hedgehog’ of choice (half a cabbage or a large potato work well!)
• Lots of cocktail sticks

What you do

For a fun, retro favourite perfect for sharing, cut a nice big block of your favourite local cheese into cubes. Peel the Fairtrade pineapple and cut into similar sized squares. Spear one cheese cube, one pineapple chunk and one Fairtrade grape onto each cocktail stick and stick them in to the ‘hedgehog’ – any round-ish receptacle with a flat side. Feel free to give the hedgehog a smiley face with a marker pen!

What you need

• Ripe, firm Fairtrade bananas
• Lashings of Fairtrade chocolate (milk or dark – your choice)
• Tin foil

A simple, BBQ best – take ripe yellow Fairtrade bananas (not too soft), slice the skin once and stuff with delicious Fairtrade chocolate. Wrap in foil and bake on the BBQ until the chocolate melts and the banana goes gooey (approx 10 minutes). Simple yet effective!

What you need

50g dark Fairtrade chocolate
110g local butter
2 local eggs, beaten
225g unrefined (golden) Fairtrade sugar
50g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
100g hazelnuts (chopped)

For the icing

100g local butter, softened to room temperature
100g icing sugar
100g cream cheese
1 tablespoon strong black Fairtrade coffee (cold)

What you do

Pre-heat oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and grease a tin measuring approximately 27cm x 18cm before lining with baking paper. Allow the paper to peep over the tin edge by about 3cm. Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 10 minutes (maximum) until lightly browned. Melt the dark Fairtrade chocolate with the local butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Sieve plain flour, a pinch of baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the golden, granulated Fairtrade sugar and beat the eggs into the chocolate mixture - lick the spoon. Stir in your hazelnuts, pop the mixture into the tin and bake for 30-40 minutes until the centre springs back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin. If you fancy making icing, beat the soft local butter and icing sugar together until pale and fluffy. Then beat in the cream cheese and super-strong black Fairtrade coffee. Smear over brownies and leave to cool in the fridge for 30 minutes. Cut the mixture into squares (makes about 12) and prepare for compliments.

Blend one small Fairtrade banana with half a Fairtrade mango together and water down with Fairtrade orange juice or water for a vitamin packed delight. Add ice and serve.

For a sweet and light alternative that won’t leave you giddy, dice half a Fairtrade lime, half a Fairtrade lemon and half a Fairtrade orange into small pieces. Place the pieces in the bottom of a glass. Sweeten it up with a teaspoon of Fairtrade sugar and plenty of crushed ice (a blender is good or pop the ice in a bag and bash it about with a rolling pin). Top the glass with the ginger ale, stir well and garnish with a sprig of fresh local mint.

Bring a bit of Caribbean flavour to your Big Lunch but leave the Fairtrade rum at home!
Peel one small Fairtrade banana and pop it in a blender with 80ml of Fairtrade tropical fruit juice and 50 ml of coconut milk. Add ice and blend for 10 seconds. Pour in a large glass and serve with a straw and cheeky paper umbrella (optional).

Take one tall, thin glass and crush three fresh, local mint sprigs with a fork, coating the inside of the glass. Add two teaspoons of Fairtrade sugar, three tablespoons of fresh Fairtrade lime juice and stir well. Top with ice and dash in a shot of Fairtrade rum. Mix well and top off with chilled club soda. Make the glass pretty with a slice of Fairtrade lime and a sprig of local mint – raise your glass to farmers everywhere and enjoy!

The night before your Big Lunch, pour one bottle of Fairtrade red wine into a large jug and squeeze in the juice of one Fairtrade orange, one Fairtrade lime and one lemon. Add lots of lovely fruit (Fairtrade pineapples and oranges are good as are firm British apples) and add two tablespoons of Fairtrade sugar and a splash of Fairtrade orange juice. Leave to chill and get acquainted overnight. Add four cups of ginger ale, soft fruit (British strawberries and raspberries work well) and ice just before serving. Emergency seconds may be needed and can be created with chilled red wine and lots of ice but the best sangrias are left to marinate for around 24 hours in the fridge.

• Get inspired by the full range of Fairtrade products and find out who stocks them
• For more mouth-watering recipes, including lots of savoury recipes, check out the Fairtrade Everyday Cookbook, published by DK

What you need

Chalk, creativity, a nice bit of flat road or pavement and Snakes and Ladders game cards and full instructions

What you do

Draw a grid with chalk, number each square, choose a start and finish corner and draw snakes and ladders where you wish. If you have a local DIY expert, a chalk line makes lovely, straight lines – if not, go free-hand. Recruit as many two-player teams as you like. One player is the official dice-thrower and their trade partner makes their way around the street board. Each teams’ fate is decided by random throws of the dice and uncertain trade rules but Fairtrade can help them climb up the ladder.

What you need

Two giant inflatable bananas, protective headgear (cycle helmets work) and competitive banana players

What you do

Create a banana arena with a goal at each end. Make sure your banana players are wearing headgear (and maybe knee pads if it’s getting very competitive). Arm each contender with an inflatable banana and say ‘go’. The winner is the person who reaches the opposite goal first. Banana players cannot touch or tackle each other physically – all defensive and offensive moves must be made between bananas only.

What you need

Two teams of between 4 – 6 people, a chalked start and finish line, your neighbourhood and two Fairtrade pineapples (Fairtrade bananas will also work!)

What you do

Decide the race route around your streets and position one member of each team at key hand-over points. On their marks, get set, go! The first team members race to the second team members who set off on leg two of the course once they have a firm grasp of the Fairtrade pineapple. The team whose final member crosses the finish line with the Fairtrade pineapple first, wins. Time is lost if the pineapple is dropped but if you want to be really ruthless; dropping the pineapple means the team is disqualified.

What you need

Fairtrade bananas and a paddling pool full of water

What you do

Apples aren’t the only fruit that floats! Contestants put their hands behind their back, kneel by the paddling pool and bob for floating Fairtrade bananas with their mouths. Get competitive by introducing a one minute challenge – the person who bobs the most bananas in a minute wins a bar of Fairtrade chocolate.

• The Big Lunch
• The Eden Project
• The impact of Fairtrade – producer profiles
• Fairtrade products and where to find them
• Recipes using Fairtrade products
• Garstang Fairtrade Town
• Order materials from the Fairtrade Foundation
• Big Fairtrade Lunch poster 1 to download and print (2735.74KB)
• Big Fairtrade Lunch poster 2 to download and print (2738.99KB)