Culture Night Belfast aims to '˜Feed the 5,000'

Culture Night Belfast and Belfast Food Network in association with Friends of the Earth, Big Lunch NI and GreenMan Packaging are planning to '˜Feed the 5000' on the evening of Culture Night Belfast on September 16.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Sep 2016, 07:00 BST
Updated 12th Sep 2016, 16:43 BST
Big Lunch NIs Niamh Scullion receives a special veg delivery for the Big Table Project at Culture Night on September 16Big Lunch NIs Niamh Scullion receives a special veg delivery for the Big Table Project at Culture Night on September 16
Big Lunch NIs Niamh Scullion receives a special veg delivery for the Big Table Project at Culture Night on September 16

A giant dinner table will be set along the length of Donegall Street in Belfast City Centre, as a giant vegetarian curry made from locally sourced surplus produce will feed hungry revellers.

‘Feed the 5000’ is 100 per cent environmentally sustainable, from donated surplus vegetables and the compostable plates and cutlery provided by Green Man Packaging, to the environmental disposal of all waste, courtesy of Natural World Products and RiverRidge Recycling. It will be Belfast’s biggest and greenest dinner party ever.

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Fourteen local farmers and distributers have contributed a whopping 1.5 tons of surplus veg from this year’s harvest to go towards the Big Pot which will Feed the 5000 on the night! People can also help get involved at ‘Chop and Bop’ events across Belfast on Thursday. September 15, where volunteers can have a boogie whilst helping to prepare the massive amount of veg the day before and on the day itself.

Adam Turkington of Culture Night said: “Feeding 5000 people is the perfect piece de la resistance for Culture Night Belfast 2016. We’ve been leading up to this for a while now. This year’s culture night is all about people coming together to break bread, a shared sense of community, and idea that we have more in common than apart.’’

Kerry Melville of the Belfast Food Network added: “We’ve been blown away by the generosity of participating farms, distributors and our partners and hope that thousands of people enjoy their free meal at Culture Night. All of the food donated for Feed the 5000 is surplus food that might otherwise have gone to waste. Our local food system can be drastically improved if people choose to buy their food from local farms, producers and suppliers and then use all the food they buy.”

Niall Bakewell of Friends of the Earth NI said:

“Good food, produced in a way that doesn’t hurt the planet should be a human right. We need to stop seeing it as little more than another commodity whose only worth is its ability to turn a profit. Food should be valued by how it maximises the wellbeing of our environment and society, as well as our economy.

For more information ago to www.culturenightbelfast.com and www.belfastfoodnetwork.org

Related topics:PeopleFoodBelfast