Text 1: A table for everyone, by Imogen Rees
An original contemporary newspaper feature.
Each Wednesday, the doors of the old school kitchen open at noon. By half past twelve, volunteers have served a hot lunch to more than forty people. The meal costs what each visitor can afford; nobody is turned away for lack of money.
“When I was recovering from an operation, cooking felt like a mountain,” says regular visitor Gareth Lewis. “Here I get a proper meal, and I don’t have to eat it on my own.” The volunteers deliver portions to people who cannot get to the school. They also set aside a quiet table for anyone who would rather not join the larger group.
The kitchen uses vegetables donated by nearby growers, and a local cook shows volunteers how to prepare them. Some visitors now take home simple recipes to try. “People come in needing lunch,” says organiser Carys Wynn, “but they leave knowing someone has noticed they were here.”
Text 2: Supper club at Bryn Glas, by A. M. Lloyd
An original newspaper report written in a nineteenth-century voice; a period simulation, not an archival document.
This report of a village supper club appeared in a local newspaper in 1879.
A supper club has been formed at Bryn Glas to assist families who have suffered hardship since the closing of the quarry. Twice each week, volunteers prepare a shared meal in the chapel room, using vegetables from the school plot and stores contributed by local households.
The club is open to all, and no family is required to explain its circumstances before taking a place. Mothers with young children may bring them along, while elderly residents who cannot walk to the chapel are to receive a covered dish at home. The committee says that this arrangement has already proved a welcome help to several households.
After supper, the room remains open for conversation. One evening each month, a nurse is expected to give a short talk on preparing nourishing meals from the ingredients commonly available. The organisers hope the club will make neighbours better acquainted as well as provide a useful supper.
Using information from both texts, explain briefly how the meal schemes were of value to the people they served.
You should make it clear which text you are referring to.
123 exam-style questions on Eduqas GCSE English Language 2.3 Summary and synthesis, covering 2.3.3 Synthesising from more than one text. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.