Connecting people using the power of good food
Spa Nursing Home Group receives funding for an intergenerational project to bring people of all ages together using good food
Food for Life Get Togethers, a Soil Association programme, is supporting Spa Nursing Home Group to connect people of all ages using the power of good food, thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.
Spa Nursing Homes provide residential and nursing care for residents in Belfast and Ballynahinch. They aim to build an intergenerational community around four of their sites, working in partnership with community organisations, young people and families to develop community food growing gardens and orchard, cooking and sharing food activities.
Sadly, around 200,000 older people go over a month without chatting to a friend or family member. At the same time, many young children across Northern Ireland do not live near their grandparents or connect with older people in their daily lives therefore miss out on opportunities to bond with people from different generations and backgrounds.
Food for Life Get Togethers aims to create social hubs at the centre of communities that bring people together to cook and eat together, grow food and form new friendships. The Spa Nursing Home Group project provides an innovative way of reaching and connecting the surrounding community.
“Spa Nursing Home Group are delighted to have been selected to take part in the Food for Life Get Togethers project. This project will help us build intergenerational links between our local communities and our elderly residents, getting together over good food what a delight. Our project will provide social interaction across many generations and we are excited to be able to explore this topic and push boundaries,” said Linda Graham, Regional Manager, Spa Nursing Home Group.
To find out more about Spa Nursing Home project or how to get involved with Get Togethers in your own area, contact Dianne Whyte, Regional Programme Manager NI for Food for Life Get Togethers, on dwhyte@soilassociaton.org follow on Twitter @fflgts_NI
The Soil Association was founded in 1946 by farmers, scientists, doctors and nutritionists to promote the connection between the health of the soil, food, animals, people and the environment. Today the Soil Association is the UK's leading membership charity campaigning for healthy, humane and sustainable food, farming and land use. Its Chief Executive is Helen Browning, and Chair of Trustees is Gabriel Scally.
Food for Life is a Soil Association initiative which began in 2003 and developed into an award-winning national programme to transform school food culture. Today, Food for Life continues to develop approaches to transforming the food environment and food culture to improve health and wellbeing for everyone, whoever and wherever they are. Through work with early years settings, schools, universities, hospitals, workplaces and care settings, the initiative aims to support the provision of nutritious, well-sourced meals as well as practical knowledge and skills. Food for Life is a leading voice in the campaign for positive change in all areas of food and health.
To find out more visit www.foodforlife.org.uk / @safoodforlife
About The National Lottery Community Fund We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since June 2004, we have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people.
We are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything we do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.