For the first time in three years neighbours and communities will be able to reconnect and celebrate together in person at Street Feast 2022.
Registrations for Street Feast are now open and organisers are aiming for 1200 feasts with 100,000 people participating around the country on Sunday, June 26. In 2019, Westmeath organised 14 feasts and organisers are calling for more people throughout the county to get involved this year and increase the number of feasts at the end of this month.
Street Feast is Ireland’s national day of lunches and one of Ireland’s most successful community initiatives for over a decade. The aim of Street Feast is to build neighbourhood and community networks and tackle social isolation. In 2019 over 1000 feasts took place, this year Street Feast is aiming to grow that to 1200 and the organisers feel there is a real appetite for this type of event since Covid.
“Since the last Street Feast three years ago after two years of restrictions and lockdowns our notion of community has altered immeasurably. For some it was an opportunity to bond with neighbours as lockdown restrictions kept us at home more than ever before. Neighbours and community were never more important and people realised the value of local connections. This year Street Feast wants to celebrate those strengthened community connections and create a space for people to re-engage safely with their neighbours.
“In total, 96% of Street Feast participants in 2019 said their sense of belonging to the neighbourhood increased after that feast and 97% said their neighbourhood was friendlier after the event. 81% of participants made plans for more community projects since their feast.
“Numerous studies have shown that social isolation is a risk factor for loneliness which itself is associated with an increased risk of poor health, low wellbeing and mortality. Street Feast has huge benefits in terms of reducing social isolation and creating a sense of belonging. We are calling on more people to get involved this year and celebrate these connections by feasting together in person,” Sam Bishop, founder of Street Feast, commented.
This year Street Feast is teaming up with community engagement platform ChangeX through the LEGO Foundation’s Build a World of Play campaign to bring more play, more fun and more energy to Street Feasts. Street Feast is supporting the Build a World of Play campaign by providing 200 Playful Street Feast PlayBoxes containing games, activities and resources to bring a fresh playful energy to your street and involve people of all ages in the festivities. These PlayBoxes will be available in addition to the standard Street Feast pack that each host receives when they register which include bunting, invitations, posters and all the information needed to have a brilliant Street Feast!
For further details and to register and obtain a Street Feast pack log onto www.streetfeast.ie, @streetfeast, www.facebook.com/streetfeast
