We had been looking for an Edinburgh based project to receive our healthy food donation when we came across B Healthy Together and they could not align more perfectly with our ideals. We love the work they do and were delighted to send some healthy food their way! We asked Rebecca to tell us a bit more about what goes on at B Healthy Together.
1. Tell us about B Healthy Together.
B Healthy Together is a grassroots organisation based in Broomhouse in Edinburgh. We provide health and wellbeing activities for those in the South West of Edinburgh for the purposes of addressing the effects of health inequalities. Our small but mighty team deliver a range of activities including seated yoga and exercise classes, stress management sessions, a craft group, a walking group, a cooking club for primary children and their families, buggy gym, baby weaning classes, health workshops and community meals. All of our services are provided free of charge and are open access.
2. Tell us a little bit about the community you serve.
Our attendees, guests and participants mostly reside within the following areas of Edinburgh: Broomhouse, Parkhead, the Calders, Sighthill, Stenhouse and Saughton. Households in these areas are within the most deprived 20% according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020. Many of our participants experience mental and physical health issues and social isolation, in addition to individual and generational trauma. Our activities provide social connection, movement and mental stimulation to support our clients in their pursuit of good health and wellbeing.
3. Post Covid what are the biggest challenges facing the community?
In recent years, a range of factors have deeply impacted our community. The pandemic and the associated restrictions that were in place have left a legacy of disconnection. We continue to work to rebuild connections which were lost and to enhance the resilience of our community. We have many individuals who attend our activities who either lost loved ones or faced serious health issues during the height of the pandemic which meant they were going through it alone. These instances manifested into traumas, the effect of which can still be seen today. Lastly, the impact of both Covid, “Brexit” and other political matters has meant that local households and our community have been detrimentally impacted on a financial level. Families lost their source of income, businesses have had to shut, costs have soared. Inevitably this deepens the health inequalities further due to the impacts of stress and financial hardship.
4. What are the benefits of community meals?
Community meals are just wonderful. They not only allow us to provide nourishing and delicious food (if we do say so ourselves) to our guests, they also form the perfect setting within which we can build connections. We all have lunch with each other, guests chat and make friends in a welcoming and warm environment, and we get to know people and the ways in which we might support them. Here is one example from one of our lunches at our regular Community Meal at St Nicholas Church which shows what we are able to achieve in addition to the food and connections: we were able to provide one individual with a supermarket voucher to purchase food, 15 individuals signed up for the priority services register with an invited guest from SP Energy Networks, we gave guidance in relation to a housing matter for one guest, we signposted another to local social activities as well as support in relation to volunteering, we taught four how to preserve food and reduce waste, and we distributed 10 crates of surplus supermarket food. Importantly, it’s worth noting that we do all of this at no cost to the guests which we can do thanks to funders and donations.
5. How do you think we can improve eating habits?
A range of factors are needed to improve eating habits: local and abundant access to nourishing food, food education, good mental health, and time. At B healthy together, we work hard to expose our clients to nourishing food and its benefits, provide it freely where we can and support them to manage stress and improve mental wellbeing.
6. If you could invite three people (living or deceased) to join your community meal for lunch, who would they be and why?
We invite people all the time to provide information and value to our meals so firstly I would invite someone to come and speak with us about anything they are passionate about. Previously we have had talks about pain management and energy efficiency, as well as workshops on budgeting, smoothie-making and making your own balms and lotions. Secondly, I would invite more babies along (with their grown-ups, of course). It is so wonderful having babies at our meal and their delighted and curious noises provide a nice background to the conversations taking place. Lastly, I would invite anyone reading this to come along too – everyone is welcome!
Thanks to Rebecca for answering our questions!
Find out more about B Healthy Together at www.bhealthytogether.org.uk
