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About the project

Food Buddies is a way for people to encourage and support each other around food.

  • Food Buddies starts with the concerns and priorities of a group of people in their community.
  • Each project builds on the assets of that community – the experience and skills of all the people involved, professional expertise and the resources in the local area.
  • There is reciprocity, rather than some people receiving a service from others.
  • The approach focuses on supporting and building relationships.
  • Food Buddies aims to be sustainable and for the impact to continue beyond a project that gets activities underway in an area.
  • Food Buddies complements what other food projects and other social inclusion projects do, and works in partnership with them.
Borders Food Buddies

This project develops peer support for people with dementia and for carers, with a focus on aspects of food and keeping well.

It started in October 2015 with funding over 5 years from Life Changes Trust.

Activities include:

  • Group activities that bring people together such as cooking classes doing food-related things together, and sessions on adapting to people’s changing food needs
  • Encouragement and support for people with dementia and carers on ways to look after yourself
  • One-to-one peer support for people who prefer this and to help people follow up on the group activities
  • Long-term support as people’s circumstances change for people who want this

We will make the peer support work for people across the range of situations and stages of dementia and caring.
A second aim is to share the experience of the people involved in the project:

  • Raise awareness about the benefits of peer support among people affected by dementia
  • Reach more people through Tips, recipe books and the like highlighting practical tips on what can help as well as raising awareness
  • Raise awareness among shops, food producers and retailers on what they can do to help.

The project will start in 2 locations in Borders in the first year and then build to reach other locations.

Connect with Borders Food Buddies on Facebook

Falkirk Food Buddies

Falkirk Food Buddies brings together older people to encourage each other to eat better and reduce social isolation.

  • It covers all of Falkirk and district – the rural parts and smaller town as well as the bigger towns.
  • It is for all older people who want some company or support around food – shopping, cooking, eating and enjoying meals together.
  • It includes people who are not looking after themselves so well, such as following a bereavement or when they have health problems, including people who have dementia and their carers.

Here are some examples of activities we have been involved with:

  • Cooking workshops
  • Food art sessions
  • Wellbeing sessions
  • Supporting people to set up regular groups

We are always looking for groups to work with and for new activities people would like to try.

Connect with Falkirk Food Buddies on Facebook

Garden Buddies

In the last year Borders Food Buddies has ‘branched’ out to grow a separate offshoot project, Garden Buddies. This project came about in a very natural, organic way when we met people living with dementia who were attending a local day centre.

Garden Buddies is a project where people of all ages come together to share activities such as gardening, playing games or just chatting.

Learn more here. 

More Information

If you would like to find out more information about the projects, you can get in touch with:

Borders Food Buddies
Ruth Noble, Development Worker: ruth.n@otbds.org / 07711 210431
Christine Ryder, Project Worker: christine@otbds.org / 07921265515

Falkirk Food Buddies
Ania Sandland, Development Worker: ania@otbds.org / 07514 905945

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Outside the Box is a certified living wage employer