The Big Fairtrade Lunch
As the nation gears up for the second annual The Big Lunch on Sunday July 18th the Fairtrade Foundation is calling on people to make Fairtrade part of The Big Lunch near them or to organize their own Big Fairtrade Lunch. The Big Lunch is a bring-your-own, open-air party where everyone throughout the country is invited to sit down in their streets, gardens and parks to have lunch together and get to know their neighbours better.
Last year, the best part of a million people got together at over 8,000 different events around the UK. This included a Fairtrade and Local Produce picnic held by the Fairtrade steering group in Garstang, a small town in Lancashire, which became the world’s first ever Fairtrade Town in 2001 and had their own Big Lunch with Fairtrade products.
‘Where Garstang has shown the way, others interested in Fairtrade have often followed,’ says Hannah Reed, Campaigns Manager Towns at the Fairtrade Foundation who liaises with the 481 towns which have gained Fairtrade status since Garstang. ‘So we are expecting lots of the Fairtrade Towns to hold a Fairtrade Big Lunch this year or make Fairtrade part of the day. With so many Fairtrade products, from tea to mangoes, it is natural fit with such a fun get-together. The day is about sharing with neighbours and choosing foodstuffs with the FAIRTRADE Mark means you are also making a link with those who produced your food.’
Tim Smit, Chief Executive of the Eden Project said: ‘The Big Lunch is delighted to be working with Fairtrade again this year. Not only will a Fairtrade Big Lunch help strengthen communities in the UK, it will also celebrate communities across the world as well as being a chance to get together and have fun. This year we are hoping that many millions more will knock on their neighbour’s door, say hello and join streets across the country for an even bigger Big Lunch on Sunday July 18th.’
Hannah Reed has worked with The Big Lunch to create a special Fairtrade Big Lunch event poster which is available to download from The Fairtrade Foundation website www.fairtrade.org.uk and from The Big Lunch Toolkit http://www.thebiglunch.com/how-to-start-a-big-lunch/toolkit.php. The Big Lunch is also sending out Fairtrade bunting to decorate sites and there are lots of Big Fairtrade Lunch recipes and activity ideas at www.fairtrade.org.uk
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Eileen Maybin
Head of Media Relations
020 7440 7686/07770 957 451
eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk
Martine Julseth
Media and PR Manager
020 7440 7695/07825 827 791
martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk
Faith Mall
Media and PR Manager
020 7440 8597/07766 504 947
faith.mall@fairtrade.org.uk
Neil Martin
Assistant Press Officer
020 7440 7620
neil.martin@fairtrade.org.uk
Notes to Editors
1. The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which licenses the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products which meet international Fairtrade standards. This independent consumer label is now recognised by 72% of UK consumers and appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
2. Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark including coffee, tea, herbal teas, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, apples, pears, plums, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, mandarins, lychees, coconuts, dried fruit, juices, smoothies, biscuits, cakes & snacks, honey, jams & preserves, chutney & sauces, rice, quinoa, herbs & spices, seeds, nuts & nut oil, wines, beers, rum, confectionary, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys, cotton wool and olive oil.
3. 7 in 10 households purchase Fairtrade goods,, helping Fairtrade sales reach an estimated £800m in 2009, up from £712m in 2008. There are over 460 producer organisations selling to the UK with 872 certified producer groups in the global Fairtrade system, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.
About The Big Lunch
The Big Lunch is led by the Eden Project, with the support of a family of partners – The Big Lottery Fund, MasterCard, EDF Energy and the Department of Communities and Local Government.
Once a year, we would like as many people as possible to sit down to lunch together with their neighbours in a simple act of community. Last year, in the first-ever Big Lunch, there were 8,263 registered lunches with an estimated 730,000 people taking part, a good start on a rainy summer Sunday. This year we are encouraging millions more people to pull up a chair for the second Big Lunch on July 18th.
The Eden Project is wholly owned by the Eden Trust, an education charity. Eden uses exhibits and educational programmes to remind people of what nature gives us and to help them learn how to look after it in return. Since fully opening in a former china clay quarry in Cornwall in March 2001, Eden has attracted more than 11 million visitors and generated more than £900 million for the regional economy.