Lunch Positive

What Lunch Positive does

Lunch Positive is a UK registered charity (Charity Commission no. 1137186), founded in 2009 by Gary Pargeter to fill a service gap left by the closure of Brighton & Hove's Open Door HIV project. The organisation provides peer-led HIV community support across Brighton & Hove and East Sussex, anchored by a weekly Friday Lunch Club at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church (12 noon to 3pm, freshly cooked self-service lunch with a vegetarian option). Adjacent services include the 50+ Supper Group (monthly evening group for people aged 50+), East Sussex peer support groups in Eastbourne, Seahaven and Hastings/Rother, a HIV Befriending Scheme delivered in partnership with Together Co, a monthly advice drop-in with Terrence Higgins Trust, Words for Wellbeing Workshops (six-week poetry/memoir pilot), emergency food parcels, and community outreach including home deliveries. The service is entirely peer-led by people with lived HIV experience and supported by a large volunteer workforce.

Name

Lunch Positive

Legal name

Lunch Positive

Website

https://lunchpositive.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lunch Positive is a peer-led UK charity providing HIV community support through weekly lunch clubs, befriending, and social groups for people living with HIV in Brighton & Hove and East Sussex.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

HIV Community Support Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD)

Keywords

• HIV peer support
• Community lunch club
• Befriending services
• Social wellbeing groups
• Charitable community services

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Charity relies on charitable donations and grants from funders including Brighton & Hove City Council, Rainbow Fund, Sussex Community Foundation, and corporate sponsors to fund operations and service delivery.
2. Individual Donations: Receives individual donations from supporters via LocalGiving platform and direct contributions. Suggested donation of £1.50 for lunch service.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Lunch Positive is a peer-led community charity that provides weekly lunch clubs, regional support groups, befriending schemes, wellbeing workshops, and emergency food support for people living with HIV in Brighton & Hove and East Sussex. All services are delivered by volunteers who themselves live with HIV, and the charity is funded by grants, donations, and council funding rather than fees for service.

Product overview

Lunch Positive is a peer-led community charity providing HIV support services in Brighton, Hove, and East Sussex. The organization operates a multi-service model centered around the weekly Lunch Club as its core offering, supplemented by specialized groups including the 50+ Supper Group for older adults with HIV, regional peer support groups in Eastbourne, Seahaven, and Hastings/Rother, and a befriending scheme delivered in partnership with Together Co. Additional services include an advice drop-in with Terrence Higgins Trust, Words for Wellbeing Workshops using poetry and memoir, emergency food parcels, community outreach, and social activities. All services are delivered by volunteers and are entirely peer-led by people living with HIV.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Weekly Lunch Club Weekly Friday lunch club at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, Brighton (12 noon – 3pm), providing freshly cooked self-service lunches (including vegetarian options), peer support, social connection and a drop-in community space for people living with or affected by HIV in Brighton.
• 50+ Supper Group Monthly evening supper group for people living with HIV aged 50 and over, providing social connection and peer support outside of daytime hours, funded by the Rainbow Fund.
• Eastbourne Food & Friendship Group Regular lunch gathering in Eastbourne for people living with HIV in Eastbourne and the surrounding area, meeting on the 1st Saturday of each month (lunch from 1pm).
• Seahaven Social & Wellbeing Group Peer-led community support group for people living with HIV in the Newhaven, Peacehaven, Seaford and Lewes District area, meeting on the 3rd Wednesday of each month in Seaford from 2-4pm.
• Hastings & Rother Social & Peer Support Group Social and peer support group for people living with HIV in Hastings Borough and Rother District, meeting in alternating months on Saturday mornings and Thursday afternoons.
• HIV Befriending Scheme Befriending scheme delivered in partnership with Together Co, matching people living with HIV with volunteer befrienders for supportive friendships across Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex.
• Advice Drop-In Monthly advice drop-in delivered at the Lunch Club in partnership with Terrence Higgins Trust on the first Friday of each month, providing professional advice on benefits, housing, disclosure, money troubles, isolation and food poverty to people living with HIV.
• Words for Wellbeing Workshops Six-week pilot programme of wellbeing workshops for people living with HIV in Sussex, focused on reading and listening to poetry and memoir and using guided writing exercises to share lived experiences.
• Emergency Food Parcels Emergency and crisis food parcels delivered by volunteers to people experiencing food poverty or crisis, including over 34,000 meals prepared and delivered during the pandemic and over 7,000 emergency and crisis food parcels provided historically.
• Community Outreach & Home Deliveries Home food deliveries, telephone befriending and outreach support for people living with HIV who are isolating or otherwise unable to attend in-person services.
• Days Out and Social Activities Weekend day trips and social events organized for Lunch Positive members, providing opportunities for community connection and enjoyment in addition to regular lunch and peer support services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 34,000+ meals delivered during pandemic
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Ledward CentreminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 July 2023Hosted Allies Lunch on Zero HIV Stigma Day at the Ledward Centre, providing free community lunch as part of zero HIV stigma activities.
• Together CocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with local befriending charity Together Co to provide a befriending scheme for people living with HIV in Brighton and Hove, and East & West Sussex. The scheme matches people with HIV with volunteer befrienders for supportive friendships.
• Terrence Higgins Trust (THT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTHT provides advice drop-in services at the Lunch Club on the first Friday of each month, offering professional advice on benefits, housing, disclosure, money troubles, isolation, and food poverty.
• Dorset Gardens Methodist ChurchcoreOthersVenue provider for weekly lunch club and activities. The church provides the Community Room (upstairs) for exclusive use by Lunch Positive on Fridays.
• Marine TavernminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal Brighton pub chose Lunch Positive as their nominated charity for 2019, hosting fundraising events and raising over £2,000 for the 50+ Supper Group.
• NHS Referral NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReferral network including University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, Sussex Partnership NHS Trust, East Sussex NHS Trust, and General Practice - referring patients to Lunch Positive services.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Positive East: East London-based HIV charity offering peer support, counselling, and wellbeing services. Closely comparable in mission and service mix (peer support, food/meal assistance, community connection) but serving a different region.
• Waverley Care: Scotland's largest HIV and hepatitis C charity, providing peer support, community connection, and wellbeing services. Comparable in its community-support orientation though geographically separate and broader in disease scope.
• George House Trust: Manchester-based HIV charity providing peer-led support, advice, and community services across the North West. Comparable peer-support operating model, serving a different geographic catchment.
• Sahir House: Liverpool-based HIV charity delivering peer support, advice, and community services for people living with HIV in Merseyside and Cheshire. Comparable peer-led service model and beneficiary focus.

Direct peers

• Positively UK: London-based peer-led HIV charity providing peer support, advocacy, and training, with a strong emphasis on lived-experience-led service delivery. Directly comparable operating model to Lunch Positive's peer-led approach.
• Terrence Higgins Trust: The UK's largest HIV charity, providing peer support, advice, and advocacy. Operates in the same HIV support category as Lunch Positive and is already a named operational partner (runs the monthly advice drop-in at the Lunch Club), making it the most directly comparable organization.
• Sussex Beacon: Brighton-based HIV charity providing residential and community services for people living with HIV in the same local catchment as Lunch Positive. Highly comparable due to shared geography and overlapping HIV beneficiary population.
• Body & Soul: London-based charity supporting people living with HIV, particularly focused on peer-led community models and addressing isolation and trauma. Comparable in mission and beneficiary focus, though operating at a larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• NAM aidsmap: UK-based HIV information charity providing evidence-based resources on HIV treatment and care. Adjacent in mission (supporting people living with HIV) but operates as a specialist information provider rather than a community/peer-support service.
• National AIDS Trust: UK-wide HIV policy and rights charity. Overlaps with Lunch Positive's beneficiary population but operates at national scale on policy, advocacy, and legal issues rather than direct service delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/lunchpositive
• Facebookfacebook.com/lunchclubfriends
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lunch-positive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lunch Positive