How friendships formed through Incredible Edible helped some members rediscover their passion for life

World Mental Health day is coming up and we are reaching out to our network for stories from people who have found that being involved in their local Incredible Edible group has supported them, involved them in their community and improved their well-being.

This film tells some stories from Incredible Edible Wakefield: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_K-mmIG3mM

Firstly we hear from Jane in Ossett who in 2016 featured in a short film sharing how being part of Incredible Edible had helped her and others transform their lives and a small part of their community. Jane has had battles with depression through her life but she found that being part of Incredible Edible in Ossett gave her something to get up for at a time when she struggled to face getting out of bed.

Another Incredible Edible Wakefield member, Maureen, found that when she moved into a new flat with no garden the group was important to her to reduce her sense of social isolation by getting her outdoors and being a part of her wider community and being surrounded by the garden and nature.

Initially the group came together to improve unloved spaces around the local community centre. Their get togethers turned into a weekly edible gardening club which, though it wasn’t set up as a health initiative, ticks all the boxes in the NHS’s Five Ways to Wellbeing: Connect, Be active, Take notice, Keep learning and Give.

Being a part of Incredible Edible has given the whole group a sense of purpose and helped them to not only transform an overgrown community space but for some of them, also to improve their own mental health and rediscover their passion for life, whilst being a part of a connected community that is supporting change.  It’s a great example of how Incredible Edible creates kind, confident and connected communities.

To search for a group local to you, go to our Find a group page.  Or if you’d like to start a group in your local area, sign up to access a wealth of resources in our Getting going section.