What do we do if we don’t have a set lunch break?
Few universities do, but that doesn’t mean people have lectures all day! Most will get a break at some point and there will often be a lot of students at the university around lunch time. It’s also possible to repeat the lunch talk so that more people can potentially come.
What do we do if we can’t get a venue on campus?
This is a challenge as convenience is key at lunch time… but it may be possible to meet nearby. One group booked a nearby pub, another a local hotel.
What do we do if, in our culture, it is traditional to have your main meal at lunchtime?
You will need to take this into account when you consider the type and amount of food you provide.
In Portugal, the students had discussed running Lunch Events on numerous occasions over several years, but each time they were told that they are Anglo-Saxon concepts that wouldn’t work in a southern European context. However, the students persevered, and were eventually allowed to give it a go, although they were warned not to get their hopes up too high! Each morning, whilst the students were on campus advertising the events, the lunches were all prepared by the staff worker and his wife. Lo and behold, the lunch bars turned out to be a huge success! The feedback from every single student who came along was extremely positive, with 40 students coming along on the first day, 44 on the second, and 56 on the third! Indeed, on the third day, it was the non-Christian students who had gone along the previous days who were bringing their friends, for that is how much they enjoyed it. The food, the atmosphere, and the talks were superb, and the Christian students were overjoyed with how it had gone. In the end, everyone was forced to admit that lunch bars can work and do work, even outside of an Anglo-Saxon setting — and I would encourage all groups to at least try them out. You can’t be sure they won’t work until you have tried!!
