How food and art is helping to improve mental health at a Chapel Allerton project

Inkwell Arts Cafe in Chapel Allerton is a creative art space and cafe run by Leeds Mind, which in the last six months has been exploring how to improve and promote better mental health through food.

Under new staffing the menu at the cafe has been overhauled under head chef Bev Rhodes (previously of Grub and Grog) and nutritionist Kim Adams.

Mainly vegeterian or vegan it includes meals such as the Inkwell burger made with a portabello mushroom and goat's cheese on sourdough bread or salad with borlotti beans and plenty of carrots and red cabbage (known antioxidants) to make the dishes colourful and appealing.

It comes after a talk from Kim Adams about the link between diet, stress, mental health, and the project as a whole is already having benefits all round.

Classes

People who do classes at Inkwell, such as art, sewing, painting, textiles, have usually been referred via Leeds Mind and they now use the cafe afterwards in a deal where class attendants get lunch for £3.50.

In turn the cafe is being run by volunteers who have previously had mental health issues and accessed Leeds Mind services. Now the cafe has extended its opening hours from one to five days a week and is hoping that the general public will also start using the cafe.

Anna Ridley, cafe co-ordinator, said: "We looked at the area, who is coming in and wanted to make it accessible. People don't think 'I don't belong here because I can't afford it'. We have always been aware of the link between food and mental health but this really stemmed from a presentation by nutritionist Kim Adams. She looked at our menu and put together a session on digestion, stress and how what you eat can affect your mental health and how we can improve that.

"We had so much interest and have taken that forward into the new menu and used it to help develop what we do in the long term."

For the volunteers helping to run it, the cafe has been described as a lifeline. The work in the cafe to give themselves purpose, to interact and to gain vital work experience before applying for other jobs.

Ms Ridley added: "We rely on the volunteers and they rely on us. They have got to the point where they feel they are part of the team and they are an integral part of the cafe - we couldn't do what we do without them.

"Our baker Karen Chaney comes in most days on a volunteer basis and makes the most amazing cakes. She suffers from a number of physical and mental health problems and we have to be aware of that bus she says she wouldn't know what to do with herself if she didn't come here and sees it as a job and is really dedicated to it and likes that she can be creative."

Ms Chaney added: "I always say my role of baker at Inkwell is 'the best thing since sliced bread'. I have a feeling of belonging, being part of something - especially as I’m retired."

Future Plans

Since changing its approach last October, the Inkwell Arts cafe has already changed so much and is looking to the next six months - including bringing in a delivery service and encouraging the general public to visit the cafe.

She added: "We have definitely developed quite a lot since we opened but there is a lot more that we can do with the place and hope to in the future and get support from people and letting them know that we are here."