Public diners: an idea whose time has come?

This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 1st April 2026

A new video explores the role public diners could play in reducing health inequalities and bringing communities together over nutritious and affordable meals.

Public diners are state-supported restaurants and, at their peak in the midst of World War II, there were more than 2,000 public diners across the UK.

Nourish Scotland is running two test sites in Dundee and Nottingham to understand the impact they can have on people's health and wellbeing. The design of the Dundee diner, including the menu, will be guided by local people and from input gathered during the consultation process.

Food plays a significant role in affecting Scotland’s healthy life expectancy - a 25-year difference in how long people from the most and least deprived areas in Scotland live in good health.

The video highlights the public diner’s role in addressing affordability, health, access to warm places, and Wi-Fi - all while being seen as places for everybody: “They don't feel like a place where you have to be skint to go."