Promoting Social Connectedness Through Food presents food-centred evidence and case studies to contribute to practical knowledge on how government and non-government actors can work together to boost opportunities and spaces for connection within communities. As loneliness and social isolation rise on the policy agenda, the report focuses on how growing, preparing, and eating food with others can provide accessible and adaptable ways to improve connectedness among people alongside broader well-being outcomes, including for populations facing greater barriers to social participation (such as elderly or socio-economically disadvantaged people). The report also draws insights for well-designed programme implementation to combat loneliness and isolation – with relevance for food-based activities and beyond – such as volunteer support, models for cross-sector collaboration and the need for robust evaluation evidence.
Promoting Social Connectedness Through Food
Abstract
Executive summary
Social connectedness has moved steadily up the policy agenda across OECD countries, reflecting growing recognition of the individual and societal costs associated with loneliness and social isolation. Governments are increasingly treating these issues as matters of public health and social policy, supported by national strategies, international co‑ordination efforts and expanding evidence on their consequences for physical and mental health, education and labour market outcomes, and broader well-being. Risks for disconnection are especially high among those already experiencing socio‑economic disadvantage, older people and those living alone, while men and young people have emerged as newly vulnerable groups. These trends are unfolding alongside structural changes in how people interact, including declining rates of in‑person socialising, rising solo living and the erosion or transformation of local “social infrastructure” – defined as the spaces that bring people together physically, facilitating meaningful interaction.
This report focusses on the example of food as a means to bring people together. Food is a universal basic need and a feature of daily life that provides a range of opportunities for people to interact and connect. Food-based activities appear in some national and sub-national efforts to combat loneliness and isolation in OECD countries, and a growing body of academic and practitioner research is exploring the well-being benefits of food-related programmes. This report features eight in-depth case studies of community-led and government-supported food initiatives – encompassing activities to grow, access, prepare, consume and redistribute food – that yield six cross-cutting insights to benefit public sector and non-governmental actors interested in implementing their own programmes to promote human connection, as follows:
Food can provide a widely accessible and socially acceptable entry point for social interaction
The case studies considered in the report cover a range of target population groups, showing that food-based activities can be adapted to enable accessible participation for people regardless of age, income, culture and ability – including people who tend to face higher structural barriers to social connection such as elderly or socio‑economically disadvantaged people. Joining a meal, gardening session or cooking group is socially acceptable and purposeful, providing a reason to engage with others without the explicitly negative framing of being lonely. Initiatives such as the Men’s Pie Club cooking group network in the UK and the Dutch non-profit Resto VanHarte explicitly design their activities around food to reduce the stigma that can be associated with social isolation and loneliness. Food can have deep cultural meaning, creating opportunities for intercultural exchange and connection, as in the Share Kai case study from New Zealand. Food can also draw individuals into community settings where they may subsequently engage in other group activities or connect with social or support services, as in Calí’s community dining spaces in Colombia.
Food‑based initiatives frequently operate through the activation and repurposing of underused physical spaces, contributing to the renewal of local social infrastructure
Across the case studies considered in the report, vacant urban lots, idle farmland and under-utilised community venues are often transformed into sites of regular activity such as gardens, cafés, dining spaces or cooking venues. In doing so, they can generate social value while also contributing to environmental and economic objectives, such as urban greening, local food production and the productive use of land. For example, the Boston Food Forest Coalition in the United States identifies abandoned plots within the city that have often become sites of dereliction, illegal dumping, soil contamination and environmental neglect and transforms them into “edible” woodland public parks that provide food, tree canopy coverage, and neighbourhood socialising space.
Food-based initiatives have the potential to affect multiple outcomes besides social connection
The case studies indicate that food-based activities have the potential to contribute to outcomes beyond social connectedness such as physical health (through improved nutrition and food security, the promotion of healthy eating habits, and physical activity involved in gardening and harvesting), mental well-being (through strengthened confidence and self-efficacy, and increased willingness to ask for help and access support resources), economic participation (where initiatives provide income generation and employment opportunities), and environmental sustainability (such as through collective gardening or farming initiatives that enhance biodiversity, promote urban greening, and support soil restoration and climate resilience).
Volunteer involvement and structured support are central to many initiatives
Financial constraints mean that many food-based initiatives rely on volunteer resources for their implementation. While this can bring risks (such as high staff turnover or burnout), the case studies indicate how volunteers can also gain self-confidence and purpose alongside new opportunities for skills development through structured support (e.g. in Calí, volunteer managers of community dining spaces receive training on food safety, small business ownership, and social and emotional skills). In many cases, volunteers are drawn from the same communities as participants (and are often former programme beneficiaries), including individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Government support and cross‑sector collaboration play an enabling role in the development, scaling and sustainability of initiatives
Most of the case studies in the report have been initiated and led by civil society or community organisations but government bodies at the national and local level provide essential support through funding, access to space or land, policy alignment, and referral pathways. Government-led programmes such as Germany’s Multi-generational Houses and Melbourne’s Community Meals Subsidy Programme can provide more stable funding channels and introduce common standards and monitoring practices. Partnerships with diverse government and non-government actors – including health and social support services, private sector actors, philanthropic organisations, social enterprises, and research organisations – further enhance food-based initiatives’ ability to tackle organisational and resource challenges.
Going forward, stronger evidence is needed to assess the effectiveness of food-based approaches for social connectedness
Existing evidence on social connectedness and broader well-being impacts remains limited, often relying on qualitative feedback or participant surveys rather than rigorous evaluation. Generating more robust evidence, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, would support a clearer understanding of which intervention elements deliver results and under what conditions.
