Growing carrots for health and happiness

Margi Lennartsson

Garden Organic

CCRI Policy Conference

22 January 2015

Promoting and supporting people to grow organically

Benefits of gardening and food growing

Environment Building Stronger Communities

Benefits of gardening and food growing

Health and wellbeing

Growing food for health, wellbeing and happiness

• Access to fruit and vegetables – improved diet • Learning and connecting with food • Increase levels of physical activity and fitness• Support recovery, rehabilitation and coping with physical and mental health challenges • Reduce stress • Improve social interaction and cohesion • Meaningful, worthwhile and fun activity - happiness and wellbeing

Sydenham Gardens

Growing Opportunities, Sandwell

Hoventon House Care Home

Community food growing in health settings

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire

May 2010 – April 2014•7 networks•609 volunteers trained •26,700 volunteer hours•82% volunteer retention•5,949 people regularly mentored •77,000 food growing conversations•4 new networks launched in 2014

Recruit, train and support volunteers

Support food growers

Evaluating outcomes and impacts

For the majority of respondents...

• the amount of food they grow (77% of households; 55% of volunteers)

• the range of food they grow (76% of households; 74% of volunteers)

• their knowledge of food growing (88% of households; 94% of volunteers)

...has increased since joining the programme

Food growing

Physical activity

For 19% of volunteers and 14% of householders the amount of fruit and veg they consume on average per day increased

Eating fruit and vegetables

• Households = 4.5 / 4.9 after 12 / 36 months

• Master Gardeners = 5.0 / 5.3 after 12 / 36 months

• UK = 4.1 (DoH/FSA 2012)

Households – 7% higher life satisfactionMaster Gardeners – 10% higher life satisfaction

Involvement increased life satisfaction for 77% of householders and 84% of Master Gardeners

Feeling part of a community

34% of households & 61% of volunteers feel more part of their local community since joining the programme

“I’ve never spoken to them before and people will go past and say ‘your sunflowers are amazing’ [...] I'd tell them to give it a go. We've been passing produce back and forth." Householder

Happiness and wellbeing

The Social Return on Investment

1. Identifying stakeholders - materially affected

2. Mapping the outcomes (‘theory of change’)

3. Evidencing outcomes and giving them a value (using proxies)

4. Calculating the ratio

SROI: Calculating the ratio

adjusting for e.g.•inflation•duration of the outcome•what would have happened anyway•what can be attributed directly to the project

SROI ratio £1 : £10.70 (£1 : £7.50 - £11.20)

Outcome group Outcomes in group % benefit

Health and wellbeing• Improved physical health• Improved mental health

38%

Community life and life satisfaction

• Increased life satisfaction• Increased trust and belonging• Increased community

participation

30%

Food eating and buying

• Increased food affordability• Reduced income leakage

through food expenditure28%

Skills base and employability

• Increased employability / financial security

• Increased competence, engagement and purpose

4%

Food recycling and composting

• Carbon reduction through sustainable behaviours 0.03%

Social returns

Thank you www.gardenorganic.org.uk

www.growinghealth.info

mlennartsson@gardenorganic.org.uk