Food growing on prescription
The Kindling Trust's trial of 'social prescribing' will see patients at a Stockport medical practice offered a healthy veg box, cookery sessions and an opportunity to do some gardening, as an alternative to medicine.
This spring, Sustain member the Kindling Trust will be working with doctors and volunteers to develop and trial ‘social prescribing’, based around the Trust's Woodbank urban agriculture site in Stockport.
GPs will refer interested patients for a programme involving healthy veg boxes, cookery sessions and exercise in the form of gardening, instead of medicines – in the hope that this might be a more effective way to alleviate some moderate health conditions.
Social prescribing recognises that peoples’ health is affected by a whole range of factors, and tries to address their needs more broadly. It also aims to support people to take greater control of their own health. Read more abut this project and the Kindling Trust here.
This work will be showcased as part of the latest phase of the Growing Health campaign that Sustain have been involved with since 2013. This project aims to see how community food growing can be routinely used by the health and social care services as a way of promoting health and wellbeing.
Sustain campaigns for a greener, healthier and fairer food supply -- find out more here.
21/04/2017
Support our work
Your donation will help communities grow more food in gardens across London.
Capital Growth is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.
London's driest July in 190 years: how urban growers are coping in extreme heat
London is Good to Grow: local food gardens open to the public this April
Grassroots campaigners are victorious as Hackney Council passes the Right to Grow
