Enhancing Wellbeing in Place ‘Grow, Cook and Eat’ through Rural Community Dining
This Innovation Lab aims to support rural communities to grow, cook, and eat together through setting up a community dining network. The project seeks to unite people in rural places through the preparation and sharing of nourishing, sustainably produced seasonal food. It also aims to create inclusive social opportunities that reduce loneliness, isolation, and health challenges, while celebrating local food and culture.
The project is working across the Hywel Dda Health Board region, with organisations based in rural areas that want to trial new and joyful ways of bringing people together through food. Participating villages include Clyfyw, St Nicholas and Cilgwyn in Pembrokeshire; Llangain in Carmarthenshire; and Ponterwyd and Llanrhystud in Ceredigion.
The innovation approach has three core elements:
- Creative consultation to engage the wider community in shaping a shared vision for community meals.
- Mentors and chefs who provide tailored support to each project, covering topics such as food safety, sustainability, finance, inspiring recipes, and using local produce.
- Producing a Toolkit and short videos to capture and share the learning journey, whilst creating barrier-busting information to encourage other communities.
Through this work, the project aims to shine a spotlight on how social dining can succeed in rural settings, inspire other communities across Wales, and share learning with policymakers. In doing so, it seeks to ensure grassroots organisations are supported and encouraged to establish and sustain rural food services.
The first stage of the process involved a Creative Consultation Event with each of the communities. You can find the summary of each of these events linked here: