The city-wide campaign invites restaurants, bars and venues to unite this October
Eat Well MCR has announced that Eat Well, Do Good month will return for 2026 and the charity is encouraging restaurants, bars and venues across Greater Manchester to sign up for the cause ready.
Eat Well MCR was founded during lockdown in 2020 by Manchester chef and restaurateur Mary-Ellen McTague, alongside Gemma Saunders and Kathleen O’Connor. Since then, the organisation has delivered more than 165,000 chef-made meals to people across Greater Manchester, each prepared with the same care and attention as a restaurant dish.
Throughout October, participating venues raise funds for Eat Well MCR in whatever way suits them best. Every pound raised goes directly towards chef-made meals for people facing the hardest of times: families in temporary accommodation, women in refuge, people relying on food banks, and parents staying overnight with their children in hospital.
Last year, 70 venues from across the city took part, doubling that of the previous year. Previous participating venues have included Lina Stores, Dishoom, Long Bois Bakehouse, The Black Friar, Where The Light Gets In, Blacklock, Hawksmoor, Great North Pie and 10 Tib Lane.
Venues have found their own ways to get involved. Some add an optional £1 donation to every bill, while others create a limited-edition dish with a portion of each sale going to the cause. Others host supper clubs, special menus and fundraising events, while some open their doors for community-focused dinners and workshops. A city-wide raffle also runs throughout the month, with prizes donated by local businesses. There is no single way to take part - only a shared commitment to helping people across the city.
A number of events have already been confirmed for this year, including a special pre-launch Sunday lunch at Exhibition on Sunday 27th September, featuring dishes from across its kitchens alongside guest chefs.The programme also includes SCRAN, an international food symposium bringing together leading voices from across the global hospitality industry.
Mary-Ellen McTague, Co-founder of Eat Well MCR, commented: “We started Eat Well MCR because we believed that proper, chef-made food, prepared with love could offer people a moment of hope when everything else felt bleak. That belief hasn’t changed, and neither has the need.
“What has changed is the extraordinary response from Manchester’s hospitality community. Every year, more venues get involved, more meals get made, and more people are reached. We’re so proud of what this city’s restaurants, bars, and chefs do together every October, and we’d love even more of them to be part of it this year. If there’s a venue out there wondering whether to get involved - please do. It matters more than you know.”
The 2026 programme is made possible with support from headline partner Toast, whose backing is helping expand the campaign’s reach, strengthen participation across the hospitality industry, and increase the number of meals delivered across Greater Manchester.
Venues interested in getting involved can register their interest or find out more by contacting hello@eatwellmcr.org.
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