Last week we had a launch party to share our new Winter Hints and Tips booklet that we made as part of our Food Buddies project.

Over thirty people attended and it was lovely to see such a range of people there. Among the guests were carers for people with dementia, older people who wanted some tips for themselves, people who are involved in community groups (including groups for people with dementia), people from a lunch club, professionals who provide help or services to people who have dementia, people from Alzheimer Scotland, younger people who were interested in finding out what was happening in their community and retailers who know they have people with dementia among their customers.

We also heard from professionals and community groups who were unable to come along but said they would be using the tips to help people they support. It is fantastic to know that the booklet can benefit such a mix of people and organisations.

In between munching on sandwiches and mince pies, we had great conversations about how everyone could benefit from the booklet. Some of the feedback is below:

“Thank you.  Lots of useful information available today.”

“It was good to met people and share information.”

“It helps to know that there advice and support is there when you or your family are finding things difficult.”

“We enjoyed today very much.”

“These tips will be good for a friend who is struggling a bit, and also very useful for us.  Most people who live alone need encouragement to eat properly and these ideas are great.”

“Can we get more tips like this in the future?”

“Lovely booklet – very easy to read and use, with good ideas and recipes.”

“The mincemeat crumble was lovely.  And the recipe looks so easy.  We will be having that at home.”

“These are easy recipes that I could manage myself.  You’ve inspired me to give it a go.”

“I like the wee extra tips on how to make the food even better when someone isn’t eating much – very useful!”

“This will be very helpful for my mum.  Thanks a lot.”

“This is a great wee book. We’ll leave it beside the magazines and people can read it while they are waiting to get their hair done.”

“We are going to be using the tips at our community café.  Great recipes and helpful ideas to make what we do work better for people who have dementia and others who may be struggling to eat enough.”

“We were happy to publicise the launch and to help Food Buddies.  This book will be very useful for some of our customers.”

“It will be nice to cook these dishes and have a meal that doesn’t start with a ping from the microwave.”

Thank you to everyone who came along and made the launch such a success.

Click here to see the booklet and make sure you follow Food Buddies on Facebook to see the ways we are bringing older people together to encourage each other to eat better and reduce social isolation.