One of the biggest benefits of supplying vulnerable people with free organic food, and the space and resources to grow that food, is that of the positive impact it can have on the body and mind.

The mental health charity Mind, released a report that suggests 1 in 4 people in England suffer from mental health issues. This poses a huge challenge for the social care sector in the UK. It is also widely accepted that the pharmaceuticals industry has a very large carbon footprint for the drugs that it manufactures for illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and stress.

In recent years, there has been a huge increase in ‘social prescribing’ used by the NHS. Social prescribing is where patients are referred by health care professionals for care in and by their communities. Many are specifically referred to groups that work in nature.

At the Food Forest Project, we aim to give communities free and safe natural spaces where they can heal, and be alone, or with their neighbours in a semi wild setting. The NHS suggests 30 minutes in nature every day to support good mental health and wellbeing.