A perfect pairing stemmed from a chance meeting at an Action Hampshire event
Solid relationships are formed when two people meet and discover they have something unique to offer each other. After connecting at an Action Hampshire event a few years ago, Mary Needham co-founder of Munch and Rachel Lewis founder of Presenting Your Past have set the ground running with an incredible collaboration.
I met with Rachel last week and she enthusiastically explained how this exciting new project started.
Making the first connection
Mary and Rachel first met at an AWE (Accelerating Women’s Enterprise) course run by Action Hampshire and got on like a house on fire. They subsequently linked up at our networking events and learned more about each other’s organisation and how they could work together to create something that could make a real difference to people’s lives.
Presenting Your Past helps individuals celebrate the lives of loved ones by capturing family stories. Munch, empowers participants to develop the skills and confidence they need to cook from scratch, make sustainable food choices, limit intake of processed food and develop financial resilience.
The perfect match
So how did two completely different social enterprises find a connection?
Food evokes buried memories from which spring fascinating conversations. Who doesn’t remember their favourite school dinner, Grandma’s banoffee pie or failed sourdough attempts! Interestingly, the tale often isn’t about the food itself but the story behind it. The nicknames we gave the dinner ladies, the eccentric dinner party invitees who wolfed down Mum’s banoffee pie or the boredom that drove us to nurturing a sourdough starter for weeks on end!
From her work with older people living in sheltered housing Rachel discovered that food memories triggered the most incredible stories. She explained that, when finding out more about a person and their family, a great conversation starting point is food.
“It can lead to discovering a whole way of life” – Rachel re-counts.
What she’s also noted through her life-story work is food gives those experiencing loneliness, common ground to socialise and share memories.
Mary believes that everyone should have access to nutritious, delicious food and the skills to cook from scratch. She helps empower communities by offering training in the form of cookery workshops.
And so, Memories and Munch was born. Their mission: to help older community members enjoy nourishing food alongside meaningful social experiences. This is achieved by celebrating heritage, sharing stories, and strengthening community bonds.
Food memories are a way connect people and tackle loneliness
The two now work together to bring food memory and cooking workshops to community groups. It’s a time to share memories, learn new skills and contribute to a cookery book full of unique stories and ways to connect through food. ‘It’s about bringing communities together through shared food stories, cooking confidence, and healthy meals’ Rachel explained.
Connecting people through food memories can encourage people to socialise and help reduce loneliness. The associated cookery workshops are a way to inspire people to cook from scratch and eat healthier foods which are low in cost but high in nutritional value. It’s the perfect partnership and Action Hampshire is proud to have Munch and Presenting Your Past as long-term members.
Look out for Memories and Munch, they will be our Member of the Month this Autumn.
Follow this link for more information about the project
Would you like connect with other VCSEs and build partnerships?
We can help you find common ground on which to grow your organisation. We make it a priority to give organisations opportunities to network, discuss challenges and successes and offer peer support. We have monthly Breakfast Meetings hosted by our CEO and regular roundtable briefing sessions on a variety of topics.
