"Affordable Food
doesn't have
to look Cheap"
The Welcome Platter
-Lunch Club
In early 2025, Grow Rhondda, a grassroots initiative based in Tynewydd dedicated to sustainable food growing, climate action, and community well-being, launched The Welcome Platter Lunch Club with support from FareShare Cymru .
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The Welcome Platter Lunch Club is a heartwarming initiative based in Y Pot Bach, Tynewydd, part of Community Interest Company, Grow Rhondda.
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Using perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste, the lunch club offers a welcoming, sit-down meal for anyone in the community who wants to connect, share, and eat well - regardless of their background or income.
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Held monthly at Y Pot Bach, Grow Rhondda’s community café and hub, they transforms surplus food into warm, nutritious shared meals prepared by volunteers . The first gathering served Chicken Madras with rice and handmade naan bread, and the second offered sumptuous dishes like duck breast with cherry balsamic glaze, roast potatoes in duck fat, and a vibrant courgette-and-aubergine tomato bake—accompanied by a lively food-themed quiz .
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Attendees found much more than a meal—they found connection. One guest tenderly reflected:
“It’s been months since I’ve eaten with anyone else — this was more than just food to me.”
The Welcome Platter Lunch Club exemplifies how surplus food can transcend its material value, it can nourish bodies, spark laughter, foster curiosity, and create a true sense of belonging. Through this initiative, Grow Rhondda illuminates a path toward community-driven resilience, showing how a simple shared meal can become a powerful catalyst for positive change.
