Men’s Community Mental Health, Nutrition & Social Connection Program
In collaboration with Star Health and the Elwood St Kilda Neighbourhood Learning Centre (E+SNLC), I have recently delivered a 6-week program that focused on nutrition for mental health and social connection for men in our community.
A few months ago, I met Daryl, a Star Health Mental Health Practitioner, at a community health event hosted at the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda, Melbourne. We discussed nutrition and mental health and the current research on diet and depression. I also expressed my desire to connect with people in my community who may otherwise be unable to access my private practice.
Daryl got in touch with me a little while later and shared his idea for a program that would combine nutrition for mental health, cooking skills, and social connection for men in our community. We then met with Karen and Georgie from the Elwood St Kilda Neighbourhood Learning Centre and the Men’s Community Mental Health, Nutrition and Social Connection Program was created!
About the program
Who was involved:
Emma Keenan, Accredited Practising Dietitian
Daryl Taylor, Star Health Mental Health Practitioner
Aricia Kostouros, Star Health Better Health Network, Health Promotion Practitioner
Karen Elsbury, E+SNLC Executive Director
Georgie McRae, E+SNLC Community Engagement Coordinator
Zoe Tovey, E+SNLC Administration Officer
The men, 6 wonderful men who were linked into Star Health community mental health programs.
Our wonderful sponsors:
A very heartfelt thank you to our wonderful sponsors, we could not have done it without you. Most of the food for the program was provided by donations from the Christ Church Mission and Father’ Bob’s Pantry. In addition, Coles St Kilda provided us with a $100.00 voucher to purchase the items we couldn’t get from the food relief services.
Emergency Relief Assistance
With the current cost of living crisis, you may find yourself in a situation that you have not been in before. You may be juggling finances and trying to make decisions between paying bills and buying food. You may have never had to access food relief services before, and you may feel unsure about the process. Please be assured that you will not be judged when accessing these services. The wonderful volunteers are helpful, warm, and welcoming humans. You may even meet some humans that are also in the same position as you.
Christ Church Mission Community Centre, 14 Acland Street, St Kilda
I have personally met Elizabeth and Kim at the Christ Church Mission. They have an inclusive, all-are-welcome policy where no questions are asked, if you are in need, they will help you. Oh, and the produce is amazing they get a wide range of fruits and vegetables including many heirloom varieties.
Monday’s 6 pm to 8 pm – BBQ
Thursday’s 5:30 pm to 7 pm - Free community dinner with takeaway option available
Mon to Fri 10:30 am to 1:30 pm – Food Parcels, no questions asked.
The Little Pantry – non-perishable food and toiletries available at any time, day and night.
Want to help? You can donate non-perishable foods and toiletries Mon to Fri between 10:30 am and 1:30 pm, you can donate money on their website, hire their venue, or volunteer (Working with Children check required).
Father Bob Maguire Foundation, Father Bob’s Pantry, 2/204 Gladstone Street, South Melbourne
Community Meals:
Mon 5:00 pm – 76 Alma Rd, St Kilda
Tuesday 6:00 pm – Alma Park West
Sunday 6:00 pm Peanut Farm Reserve
Emergency Relief Food Pantry 204 Gladstone Street, South Melbourne
Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 10 am to 2 pm
Where was the program delivered?
The program was delivered over a 6-week period at the Elwood St Kilda Neighbourhood Learning Centre. We were given full access to the kitchen and dining area between 11:30 am and 1:15 pm on Thursdays for 6 weeks.
E+SNLC is a not-for-profit Neighbourhood House that provides low-cost education programs and hosts a variety of community and commercial activities that promote sustainability, wellbeing and creativity.They have been providing a great breadth of services to the local community for over 30 years.
E+SNLC offers programs including English courses, digital literacy courses, arts & crafts, health & wellbeing, yoga classes, and alcohol and rehabilitation support groups. The house features an affordable internet café and printing library as well as rooms and the kitchen available to hire for meetings, events, and cooking.
They are home to the Elwood Kitchen Library, a service where you pay an annual fee that allows you access to borrow a wide range of kitchen appliances, cookware, cookbooks, and utensils. This is such a great idea especially for those living in apartments with minimal storage space and those trying to reduce their environmental impact. You can borrow entertainment dining sets, try before you buy the latest appliances (Air Fryer, Sour Vide machine, Ice-cream maker, etc.), they have pasta making machines, cookbooks, baking trays, cake stands, pot, pans, and pressure cookers.
What did the program look like?
The first week, I provided the men with a booklet with guidance on the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern, it included a label reading guide and recipes for the meals we would be cooking together for the first 5 weeks.
In the spirit of adult learning, communication, and social connection, the men were asked to:
Set the rules for how we were going to work together safely in the kitchen
Cook together, creating one large meal to be shared between us all
Set the table so we could all sit down and share lunch together
Wash the dishes, put the dishes away, and leave the kitchen clean and tidy
Decide together the meal we would cook for week 6
I wanted the delivery of nutrition information for this program to be informal and relaxed. Each week the men were provided a handout with information on the topic we would be discussing for that week. While we were preparing and cooking lunch I would chat about the topic and the men would have a chance to ask questions. We covered a range of topics including whole grains, healthy fats, phytonutrients, fibre, gut health, and legumes.
What we cooked
The recipes were developed using the ModiMedDiet protocol from the SMILES trial as a guide. Read more about food and mood here.
Some of the men attending the program are currently between jobs and are living in insecure housing or boarding houses. Some of their kitchens are dangerous to be in or they have limited facilities available. Therefore, the recipes and meals had to:
Use basic cooking equipment and support better use of the men’s kitchen.
Use affordable ingredients and/or ingredients that can be sourced from food relief organisations.
We made baked beans, salmon patties, spaghetti bolognese, beef burgers, tzatziki, Greek salad, lentil stew, butter chicken, and lentil dahl.
On the last day, I had a conversation with one of the men where I mentioned that I wish I had taken more photos. He said but you were so present and in the moment, reminding me that this was never about sharing images on the internet.
Food & Nutrition Workshops
We had the wonderful Aricia, Health Promotion Practitioner join us for a couple of sessions to deliver workshops.
Workshop 1: Culinary Time Capsule
We were asked to reflect on our personal culinary journey and consider dishes that…..
Evokes childhood memories
You eat for nourishing and personal wellness
Is a culinary representation of your adult life
You eat or prepare for relaxation and leisure time
We were asked to draw our chosen dishes and then share them with the group.
Workshop 2: Port Phillip Food System
Aricia is currently mapping the Port Phillip Food System, gathering information from where members of our community source, consume, and dispose of food. As you may be able to see (if you squint) from my very poor-quality photo there are many points at which we access food. We were asked to pick three topics and chat about our experience with each one. I choose grow, eat, and access. Where do you access your food?
How it went
The program was a great success for all involved and the men provided positive feedback about their experience.
We faced some challenges in the kitchen, including some issues with the stove and recipe and grocery misinterpretation. We managed to overcome these challenges and improvise and adapt to deliver new dishes. It just shows that life is not always perfect or predictable and that we can always pivot and make the most of what we have. The most important thing is that we avoided any injuries or food poisoning and we cooked healthy and delicious food each week. That says success to me.
Some of the feedback from the men included:
They appreciated that the focus was on health and not on weight.
They liked the fact that it felt relaxed and that they could ask questions.
They enjoyed the food and being able to cook and share meals together.
A testimonial that I received from one of the men.
“Really glad that I enrolled in the men’s nutrition and mental health group it has been really valuable in taking things more at a living, workable and real pace that has given me a true feeling that I’ve finally got the tools to achieve my goals with all round healthy ways. Your insights and helpful tips and knowledge has stopped my lifelong pattern of being in the traps of a mindset that has really been “All or Nothing”…..”Healthy or completely unhealthy and quite compulsive eating patterns”. It’s been a real sense of freedom to be honest. The tools I’ve gained and the knowledge has given me a real feeling that food is a way in which I can nurture myself, which is made so much easier with the Mediterranean style diet and dropping the complexities of packaging foods as “good” or “bad”. Your teaching style is really open and holistic. Thank you so much!”
This feedback made my heart melt. As a dietitian, my aim is to support people to understand that food is so much more than just a way to manipulate body weight. It’s about providing our body with the nutrients it needs to support our physical health, mental health, and social well-being. All of which we cannot achieve if the focus is on manipulating our body weight.
I look forward to having the opportunity to deliver many more nutrition and cooking programs in the future. Currently, I am on the lookout for the perfect commercial space for my private practice. One that hopefully includes a kitchen, if you know of anything in the St Kilda area please reach out.
Emma
Elwood + St Kilda Neighbourhood Learning Centre - (esnlc.com.au)