Overview
- More than 180 Christmas lunches are scheduled nationwide through Royal Voluntary Service community clubs, with 100 funded by the Morrisons Foundation.
- Local dates confirmed include Banbury on December 16 at Cornhill Community Companions and December 17 at the Cornhill Centre, Batley next week, and Swindon on December 17 and 18.
- Booking is required and spaces are limited, with details and reservations available via the Royal Voluntary Service website.
- Royal Voluntary Service cites research showing about 1.2 million older people lack invitations to eat with others at Christmas, with regional findings of high solitary eating and heightened loneliness.
- Royal Voluntary Service staff and campaign ambassadors, including Helen Kirkham, Rosemary Shrager, and Morrisons Foundation chair David Scott, stress the social connection these meals provide.