“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food,” said Greek physician and celebrated ‘Father of Medicine’ Hippocrates, which is as true today as it was when first uttered almost 2,500 years ago.
For food is what brings people together, the breaking of bread as a communal act serving to feed the spirit as much as the body.
In celebration of the link between fine dining and fine company, the Camross Lunch Club is a social food gathering featuring music, dancing and companionship, the aim of which is to bring people together and avoid isolation.
While it is aimed predominantly at older people, anyone living alone in search of a social outlet is welcome to attend, where they can enjoy a hot, nutritious lunch followed by entertainment.
Lunch Clubs foster sociability and inclusion and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to engage with others in a friendly environment, making connections, accessing information and sharing experiences.
Through collaboration, a need was identified for this worthy initiative in Laois in recognition of how many older people are disconnected from their community and the vital services they need to live independently.
Some are unable to engage because of health problems, while others may simply be lonely as their families have long since flown the nest.
The decision to kickstart the project arose when Michelle Tuohy, Training and Employment Officer with the Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme of Laois Partnership Company (LPC), attended the Age Friendly ‘Live Well Expo’.
This led to a collaboration between LPC, Laois County Council and Healthy Ireland, with Michelle working along with Emma O’Connor of the council’s Healthy Laois department and Tom Curran and Rose Doolin of the Age Friendly Laois department, to deliver the inaugural Lunch Club, which took place in Camross at the beginning of December.
This proved so successful that it is planned to continue organising these events in 2025.
Camross community activist, Johanna McDonald, explains that coffee mornings were originally taking place in the village, before Michelle approached the Camross Tidy Towns group with the Lunch Club idea.
It was initially planned to host these events in the hub, but due to the numbers interested in attending it was necessary to use the larger community centre instead.
The Lunch Club is just the latest project to energise this small Irish village, nestled close to the highest peak in the Slieve Bloom mountains.
Camross has blossomed over the last six years thanks to the work of the CPDA, who strived to secure funding from several agencies, including LPC, to increase amenities and change the village into a beacon of can-do spirit.
The Camross Community Association is now the group continuing the regeneration project and supporting the Lunch Club, and they are thrilled with the local response.
“The Lunch Club is a wonderful project, and we are so delighted to take part and share our feedback with Laois. We give it a thumbs up: the food, the music, the chats, and the dedication of the Laois Partnership crew,” said a spokesperson for the Tidy Towns group.
The Lunch Club will take place in Camross Community Centre throughout 2025, recommencing in February.
For more information, or if you are part of a community group interested in exploring the possibility of setting up a Lunch Club in your area, contact Michelle Tuohy on michelletuohy@laoispartnership.ie or 087 2815338.
Check out some great pictures from Renata M above and below:
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