New exhibition and invite to a meal in Kirkcaldy to rediscover public diners

That is the premise behind a new exhibition which launched in Fife this week to shine a light on the fascinating but largely forgotten history of state-supported restaurants, known as public diners.

And Greener Kirkcaldy is teaming up with food policy organisation, Nourish Scotland, to host a public diners’ supper in the Lang Toun to let people try it for themselves.

The exhibition at Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, will be followed by a national tour on a concept that was once part of our everyday lives. From the 1940s to the ‘60s, over 2000 restaurants operated under the banner of British and Civic restaurants - about the same number of Greggs we have today.

Originally established during World War II to ensure access to affordable and nutritious meals, they remained a vital part of everyday eating into the post-war years. At its peak, Fife was home to at least eight public diners, serving hundreds of hot meals daily to workers, families, and individuals. Though the concept faded over time, similar models continue to thrive across the world.

Visitors to the exhibition can explore the past, present and future of public diners and ask as food prices rise and busy modern life makes eating well harder, could they make a comeback and be a solution we all crave?

Asked when they would use a public diner, people said on the way home from work, as an alternative to a midweek take-away or at lunchtime for a quick, easy meal.

Last year Nourish brought almost 200 people together to start reimagining public diners for today’s society. Its report stated: “Public diners are a bold policy intervention which has the potential to transform the food system in the UK. They will be regular eating places that make it possible to dine out more than once a week without breaking our banks or our health. Public diners will be places that enable us to do food better: better for us, for our health, our climate, our communities.”

Abigail McCall, spokesperson for Nourish Scotland said: It really is fascinating to think that we had something like a national restaurant service before we had a national health service. I can’t help but think about the potential benefits of these two things existing beside each other.

Food is a basic human right and we don’t have the infrastructure, like we do with water, education, housing, to protect it. Public diners make sense, that’s why we used to have them and why other countries are rolling them out – this exhibition shows the strong foundation we have to build public diners in Scotland today”

Alongside the exhibition, Nourish Scotland will be hosting pop-up suppers, where visitors can share a meal and discuss what a modern-day public diner could look like, starting at Greener Kirkcaldy next week - anyone interested in attending can register by emailing [email protected]. The meal gets underway at 6:00pm.

The Nourish Scotland exhibition is at Rothes Hall until April 5 and then goes on to Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries from April 7-18 and then Methil Heritage Centre from the 19th-26th.