We’re on the Radio
We were delighted to feature on The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4 this week. The show explored the power of eating together in an affordable and inclusive way, and Sussex Surplus was right at the heart of the conversation. Back in December, presenter Sheila Dillon and producer Natalie came to one of our communal dining evenings and beautifully captured the spirit of the event. Sharing our story on a national platform felt like a real milestone and a moment of validation, and further demonstrated the wide-scale interest in, and potential for, communal dining.
We were also in inspiring company, alongside projects including The Long Table and The Public Plate.
📻 Listen on BBC Sounds or Spotify (if you’re outside the UK).
The coverage came just a week after our co-founders, Phil and Ingrid, travelled to Copenhagen to visit Absalon - a vibrant community space housed inside a former church. Absalon is famous for its long-table dinners, known in Denmark as ‘fællesspisning’, and, if communal dining were an Olympic sport, they would be frontrunners for gold. An extraordinary 364 evenings a year, 200 people gather there to eat in well-organised synchronicity.
Our visit was packed with inspiration. We connected with the Absalon team — huge thanks to Ursula, Ea and Camilla for welcoming us so warmly — and asked plenty of questions about how their model works in practice. Seeing how food can anchor belonging at such scale was energising, and there were many lessons for our own communal dining evenings.
Absalon’s Communal Dining in Copenhagen
Trips like this remind us that we’re part of a growing movement reimagining food systems to be fairer, more joyful and less wasteful. From national airwaves to Danish dining halls, the message is the same: breaking bread together breaks down social divisions and is good for both our individual and collective wellbeing.
An added highlight of our Scandinavian visit was meeting the fantastic Brighton Table Tennis Club, whose players were competing at the Malmo Open. We shared a meal together at Absalon and travelled back to Brighton with their team trophy and several individual medals in tow.
Together at the Table at One Church, Brighton
🍽️ Join Sussex Surplus at one of our upcoming Together at the Table events below.
These events are all about creating community and celebrating local food, and we’d love to see you there.
To book via Ticket Tailor use the links below