Community meals and shared movement sessions bring Hackney Wick residents together

Every Friday, St Mary of Eton Church hosts activities to help Hackney Wick residents move and feel better. An hour-long ‘Chair Disco’ helps get people moving, and then participants and local residents refuel with a hot shared meal - all free of charge.

The idea for the Friday sessions came about during the lockdowns, when Wick Award and St Mary of Eton supported elderly residents and those referred by the Test and Trace Team by delivering supplies and hot meals to local residents unable to leave the house.

The Reverend Sue Makin, Vicar of St Mary of Eton, could see that the people she was delivering food to were struggling, and was determined to bring the community together to create a space for people to re-connect. The activities are supported by a team of local volunteers.

“People were desperate to get together and see their neighbours again, and have a bit of banter over some lunch”, said Polly Mann, who works with the Wick Award, the resident-led Big Local organisation with a mission to help good things happen in Hackney Wick.

“We partner with The Felix Project, who collect surplus fresh, nutritious food that can’t be sold. They deliver it to us and then our volunteer chef, Sharon, magics up something delicious from it every week.”

Many people who had been self-isolating during the pandemic found that they lost confidence, mobility and the drive to get going. Because of this, Sue and Polly decided to pair the lunch with a Chair Disco - a vibrant, inclusive exercise class for all bodies and abilities, led by local instructor Anne-Marie Payne.

Anne, 67, is a mobility-impaired Hackney resident who regularly attends the Chair Disco and community lunch. She says:

“As a stroke survivor, and having suffered through the lockdown, and not moved very much - this gets me going! The music's brilliant. The people are so vibrant. The teacher is amazing. You cannot help but want to move around and get things going. It's been so good, and I've met some lovely people.”

The weekly sessions take place at St Mary of Eton, 95 Eastway, Hackney Wick, E9 5JA, starting at 11am Fridays. Information about this and other community meals in the Hackney Wick area can be found at www.wickaward.co.uk/events.

If you would like to volunteer to help out or attend the meal please get in touch with Polly on polly.mann@wickaward.co.uk / 0748 232 0992.

For more info about Chair Disco seated exercise, see www.chairdisco.com or contact Anne-Marie on 07526 562 615.

TRANSCRIPT:

Sue Makin, Vicar, St Mary of Eton 0:04
When we were delivering parcels to people during the pandemic, we met some people who were isolated. So we knew that that was a need in the area, after the pandemic calmed down a bit, to have some big social. To have a meal where people could come, they could meet new friends, they could have a chat with somebody, they could perhaps do a little bit of exercise with the Chair Disco beforehand… work up a sweat, come in, have a three-course meal with other people, particularly if people eat alone all the time. It's quite nice if they can, at least once a week, have a meal that's prepared for them, that they don't have to worry about.

Polly Mann, Wick Award 0:40
We opened up the lunches at St.Mary of Eton after the lockdown. And people were just desperate to get out and meet their neighbours again. To enjoy just a bit of banter over lunch. It’s always something nice. Sharon, the chef always whistles up something amazing.

Sharon 0:54
They get to meet people, they get to enjoy meeting new people. They enjoy the lunch; they make new friends. And so they come back. And it's word of mouth. You know: “There’s a good lunch down there…. Let’s go there and have a lunch.” They're all very friendly. And they all get on.

Mary, support worker 1:14
Our patients that we bring here, when they return back to the the project the give really positive feedback. They're happy to be here every Friday. They look forward to it and they enjoy the meals. So it's a nice place to be.

Ryk, 60, Hackney resident 1:27
It's very much a social event. There are people chatting, people that know each other already. But also people that have never met before. I tend to go every week. I've spoken to people that I didn't know before, so you can get to meet new people. And you never know when that will lead to friendships and stuff. I think eating together is a very, it's very, it's a really good thing to do, actually, sharing a meal. Because that goes back hundreds and hundreds of years. So often now we just eat by ourselves or with one other, or grab a takeaway or something.

Polly Mann, Wick Award 1:59
We use mainly food from The Felix Project, that's been rescued, and is repurposed into amazing meals for the community down in Hackney Wick.

Chloe, youth worker 2:11
There's a big social aspect that I've grown to love. I'm such a young member of the community so it gives me a sense of warmth to have some older members to talk to. Yeah, it's just… it's just great.

If you, or an organisation you work for, might be interested in funding these sessions to help reduce social isolation and keep Hackney residents physically active, contact Polly Mann at the Wick Award on 0748 232 0992.