4 December 2024. Our Food with Friends in November was a collaboration with the brilliant local speaker and educator Bahar Moulan. We spent an incredible day coming together as a community to focus on how we can build our confidence by incorporating wellbeing and good mental health into our daily lives.
At this event, we focused on the emotional and physical toll that neglecting our mental health can have, especially for those who are displaced from family or who have no support network.
The energy, openness, and willingness to grow from our attendees made it an unforgettable experience. From mindfulness exercises to practical tips for managing stress and building resilience, we explored so many ways to nurture our mental, emotional, and physical health in spite of the challenging situations we may face daily.
Bahar guided our attendees, all from a variety of different backgrounds, in practicing mindfulness exercises such as emotional regulation and self-centering. All attendees were welcomed to share their experiences in a safe, welcoming space that really helped people engage with our speaker and learn from each other. You can read more about Bahar’s work on her blog, here.
We also had the amazing Isabelle from local Loaves of Love come and speak about the project and how we can all get involved. Loaves of Love is a project where marginalised women come together through the medium of baking to help them feel welcomed and valued in the community
We all went away with some great practical skills for overcoming social barriers and building mental resilience. Bahar, Isabelle and our amazing attendees are all part of what makes this community so special.
WBI launched the Food with Friends project in the winter of 2022 with support from the Portsmouth City Council’s Community Inclusion Grant. Every month, we host a warm meal in a community space for migrants and other attendees and focus on an important public health topic. This is part of our work to contribute to reduce health inequalities in the community.
We’re now coming up to almost two years of supporting the community through accessible hot meals and public health education. We hope you can join us for another two years of building better, stronger communities!
