This month Brighton & Hove Food Partnership are running a social media campaign to celebrate all kind of shared meals in the city and they want your photos!

There are 3 ways to share your  photos:

1)      Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/harvestbh/

2)      Twitter – @harvestbh. Use the hashtag #sharedmeal

3)      Or email the pics to: [email protected] and they will post them for you.

The Brighton and Hove Food Poverty Action Plan  ‘recognise the role that shared meals e.g. lunch clubs are playing in improving the health, nutrition and mental health of the city.’

Their aim for this campaign is to inspire action – donating money to community groups, encouraging volunteers to help out and increasing participation in lunch clubs.

You can find out more on their blog http://bhfood.org.uk/Blog/we-re-celebrating-eating-together-across-the-city

The Christmas Market at Cornerstone Community Centre is on Saturday 26th November from 11am to 3pm.

They still have a few stall spaces available at £10 a table.

Contact [email protected] if interested.

Cllr Emma Daniel is the chair of the council’s Neighbourhood, Communities and Equalities Committee. Her next Voluntary and Community Sector surgery is 12th July, running from the Community Works office on Queens Road. This is a chance for community groups in the city to discuss their concerns and priorities with Cllr Daniel.

To book an appointment to discuss issues important to your organisation/city priorities from your perspective, please contact Faye Perry [email protected]

Sanctuary on Sea is hoping to set up a group to coordinate events in Brighton & Hove during Refugee Week, 18th to 26th June.

The first meeting of the group will be held on Thursday 2nd June from 5.30 pm – 7.30 pm at Community Base.

Anyone who is planning an event during Refugee Week, or interested in getting involved, is welcome to come to the meeting. The aim of the meeting is to discuss:

• What events are planned and how we can jointly publicise them
• What help is needed by organisations – funding, materials and how we can source these or share resources
• Whether there is a role for volunteers and how these can be recruited
• Whether we want to have any joint media or communications messages as the organisations working on Refugee Week in Brighton & Hove

If you are interested in attending the meeting, or want to find out more about Refugee Week, please contact Monika on 077 303 391 45 or [email protected]

Monika is the Refugee Week coordinator for Sanctuary on Sea. She can offer support to organisations and communities involved in Refugee Week to organise a calendar of events and activities from 18th – 26th June 2016. She will also help organise volunteers to support events where needed. If you are organising an event during Refugee Week, you can contact Monika with the details and she will publicise your event on  the Sanctuary On Sea website and the National Refugee Week website.

Know My Neighbour is a citywide community project run by One Church Brighton, aimed at sparking social connections to create a better Brighton & Hove. This May is the launch of Brighton & Hove’s first Know My Neighbour week, starting Saturday 21^st May. The Brighton-wide Know My Neighbour week will feature different initiatives running across the city to encourage neighbourly activities as a way of tackling social isolation.

There will be an open meeting on Wednesday 20th April 3.30pm – 5.00pm we’ll be meeting at One Church, Gloucester Place to firm up the plans for Know My Neighbour 2016. A particular focus will be on Know My Neighbour week 21st-27th May and how organisations/individuals can get involved.

The purpose of the meeting will be to:

• Share events planned so far, with a special focus on Know My Neighbour Week 21st-27th May including our week long Pop-up Cafe event.
• Explain how organisations and individuals can get involved and partner with Know My Neighbour – benefiting neighbours and the activities/services you are involved in.
• Provide an opportunity for those already involved to speak to a member of the team about a planned event or initiative.

For further information, and details of previous events and meetings, visit the Know My Neighbour website.

RSVP to [email protected] to confirm whether you can attend.

Know My Neighbour is a citywide campaign run by One Church Brighton, aiming to encourage neighbourliness to create a better connected city.

The pop up café will run throughout Know My Neighbour week 21st – 27th May at Gloucester Road Church, 11am – 7pm. Local people and community groups are invited to get involved by showcasing their work – either in the form of entertainment, running a food session at the pop up café (lunch or afternoon tea) or coming along to chat with guests.

For example a recovery group choir could perform, an older person’s cooking group could provide cakes for an afternoon tea or a community café/group could run the lunch for one day.

Groups are also welcome to simply provide flyers that advertise their activities and services.

To get involved, email [email protected], or call 01273 694746.