ABERYSTWYTH baker Alana Spencer will be joining in with a virtual big lunch this weekend.

A wide array of activities had been planned throughout Wales for the annual Big Lunch, which takes place this weekend, but lockdown has meant that these have had to be postponed.

People are however being encouraged to hold their own big lunch and join the celebrations virtually.

Alana Spencer, who won the BBC show, The Apprentice, in 2016, runs a successful business in Aberystwyth named Ridiculously Rich and is going online on Sunday morning to host a bake along.

The Big Lunch is a project aimed at encouraging stronger ties in local communities.

This time last year, the Big Lunch One Poll Survey revealed that one in five had no-one in their community that they could call on. Despite the many frustrations and challenges of lockdown, their latest survey reveals that over 15 million people across the UK have helped a neighbour during the lockdown and Welsh communities are certainly flourishing.

In a recent poll of 4,000 people across the UK, figures show that on average, 64 per cent of the population has chatted with a neighbour in the last week, with Wales topping the chart at 73 per cent.

The survey, conducted by OnePoll for The Big Lunch, reveals that people have become better connected in lockdown. Three in five people in Wales say people in their community are more likely to stop and chat now and over half say that Welsh communities have become a friendlier place to live since lockdown began.

There is a growing appetite for this to continue, with three quarters of the population in Wales hoping the new sense of community spirit continues once lockdown measures are lifted.

The Big Lunch, an idea from the Eden Project, made possible by The National Lottery, started back in 2009.

It’s an annual event that gives neighbours and communities the opportunity to come together, knowing that challenges are easier to tackle together.

These new figures prove that this is what communities in Wales have been doing.

Dawn Austwick is CEO of The National Lottery Community Fund who support The Big Lunch, and said: “Now, more than ever, Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of our communities and the strength that comes from neighbourly ties – 15 million people helping a neighbour during lockdown is a testament to those ties.

"Thanks to National Lottery players, this year’s ‘Big Virtual Lunch’ is helping people to come together safely and to continue to build bonds and connections, that will last long after the crisis has ended.”

Last year over 6 million people took part in 90,000 Big Lunch events, including 3,500 Big Lunch events in Wales.

This summer for the first time in its 10 year history, The Big Lunch will become The Big ‘Virtual’ Lunch, with events running online, on the phone and on the doorstep from 6-7 June.

There will be a full programme of online events throughout the weekend to ensure everyone can take part, including a bake along with Aberystwyth’s star baker and former winner of the BBC’s Apprentice, Alana Spencer from Ridiculously Rich by Alana.

Lowri Jenkins, Wales Manager for Eden Project Communities says: “Our survey shows that even though the UK is going through the toughest challenge we’ve ever seen, the human response has been fantastic and our community spirit remains strong. The Big ‘Virtual’ Lunch is inviting neighbours and communities to celebrate community connections and say thanks to one another in a small act of community, friendship and fun. This could be street zoom lunches, community phone trees or an agreed time that everyone will raise a cup on their doorstep. Simple, small steps that will help us all still feel connected. This is what The Big Lunch has always been about.”

Join The Big ‘Virtual’ Lunch online, on the phone or on your doorstep on 6-7 June and find out more at TheBiglunch.com