{"id":57,"date":"2025-12-04T09:39:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T09:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/?page_id=57"},"modified":"2025-12-04T10:19:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T10:19:35","slug":"ask-your-attendees-to-bring-their-own-food","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/index.php\/ask-your-attendees-to-bring-their-own-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask your attendees to bring their own food"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"top\">This section covers three main areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-30c71f371121ffc626295c59c2b87c31\" style=\"color:#0c06ff\"><a href=\"#should\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#should\">Should we ask attendees to bring their own meal?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4f9a23fade963917269afce9bb63424b\" style=\"color:#0c06ff\"><a href=\"#learning\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#learning\">Key learning from the Food Glorious Food project<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b3c83b758e0d5988452d97638e4cdc19\" style=\"color:#0c06ff\"><a href=\"#facilitate\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#facilitate\">How should we facilitate attendees bringing their own meals?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-83fd405789b452579b5734ee627a3340\" id=\"Should\" style=\"color:#2e0606\"><strong>Should we ask attendees to bring their own meal?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What are the benefits?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Attendees can bring what they choose\/what is familiar and tailored to their preferences and needs without risk of being served something they can\u2019t\/don\u2019t want to\/won\u2019t eat<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eating packed lunch\/\u2019finger food\u2019 together is an opportunity for socialisation, interaction and enjoyment (potentially easier than with a large hot meal with cutlery)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Staff not tied up with cooking and serving food, so free to attend to needs of attendees\/ instigate conversation etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Very low cost for group \u2013 keeps attendance cost down<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Opportunity to notice if issues with preparing food at home<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Opportunity for attendees to share what they bring with others or talk about what they bring, creating connection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What are the risks?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cold \u2018finger food\u2019 packed lunch may be unappealing\/not someone\u2019s usual routine or a barrier for some, particularly from cultures other than White British<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Potential for attendees to bring food and drink that is not safe (for them or others)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Potential for attendees to have no edible food for lunch, if no contingency plan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What someone brings could draw unwanted attention if different to the group norm (e.g. if from a different culture, background or socio-economic status)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Danger of attendees being put off attending if packed lunch is difficult for them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3ba99fea9700fbed6ca0318865ad3810 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#0c06ff\"><a href=\"#top\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#top\">Return to the top of the page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8d73360277b4020586e18ab480ba3da6\" id=\"learning\" style=\"color:#2e0606\"><strong>Key learning from the Food Glorious Food project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Packed lunches are not necessarily just a \u2018second best\u2019 option if a group does not have the resources to provide food \u2013 there are potential unique benefits<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eating packed lunches together can spark conversation, reminiscence, \u2018health by stealth\u2019 discussions and peer support, creating group cohesion and reducing loneliness and isolation \u2013 helped by the presence of staff who are not otherwise occupied with preparing and serving food<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Staff and volunteers can use the time to support attendees, lead social activity during the meal or set up post-meal activities<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Packed lunches are a potential means for staff to assess how well someone is managing at home (e.g. by seeing what food they bring, or if they are consistently unable to bring food)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attendees can bring what they choose\/what is familiar and tailored to their preferences and needs, without risk of being served something they can\u2019t\/don\u2019t want to\/won\u2019t eat<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Packed lunches may be more familiar and easier to eat as a midday meal for some<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is a danger packed lunches could exclude some, however \u2013 e.g. if they are not able to make and bring an appropriate packed lunch, or if the idea of a cold food packed lunch is unfamiliar or unappealing to people from their background<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Access to a large refrigerator or microwave to reheat brought food may be necessary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3ba99fea9700fbed6ca0318865ad3810 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#0c06ff\"><a href=\"#top\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#top\">Return to the top of the page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c03c0a99ced2cdf8c89836650d2fbbf9\" id=\"facilitate\" style=\"color:#2e0606\"><strong>How should we facilitate attendees bringing their own meals?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What helps?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Access to large refrigerator for food or microwave to reheat brought food<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Packed lunches collected in at start of the day, then handed out at lunch<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contingency plan if someone forgets their packed lunch (some basic lunch\/snack items kept in fridge)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Staff\/volunteers knowledgeable of attendees dietary requirements and support needs regarding eating<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Staff\/volunteers vigilant to what attendees are eating and any need for help<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Staff\/volunteers eating together with attendees to exercise attentiveness and instigate conversation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Staff\/volunteers monitoring of food and drink brought by attendees and liaison with family\/carers to resolve any issues affecting food safety, adequacy, or appropriateness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Guidance for attendees on suitable\/healthy food to bring (or avoid bringing due to common allergies etc.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What challenges might we need to think about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Can take some organising if group numbers are large<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>May be an issue for some if they live alone or if they (or the person caring for them) is unable to shop for a packed lunch or prepare food for taking out<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attendees need to be organised and remember to bring own food<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Appropriateness of what attendees bring in may need monitoring<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Space needed to store packed lunches, and then eat them together<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3ba99fea9700fbed6ca0318865ad3810 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#0c06ff\"><a href=\"#top\" data-type=\"internal\" data-id=\"#top\">Return to the top of the page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fc2346eba77410d292a28f549bd3df72 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#0c06ff\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2\">Return to the home page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This section covers three main areas: Should we ask attendees to bring their own meal? What are the benefits? What are the risks? Return to the top of the page Key learning from the Food Glorious Food project Return to the top of the page How should we facilitate attendees bringing their own meals? What [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-57","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/57\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72,"href":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/57\/revisions\/72"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foodgloriousfood.on.worc.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}