OUR COMPANY
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Early Nourishment Community Interest Company was founded in September 2018 as a non-profit organisation providing services to families across North Devon & Torridge.
When we founded Early Nourishment, we wanted to make sure we were creating a company which:
→ has the communities needs as a driver
Our primary aim is and has always been to support infant feeding (including breastfeeding, bottle feeding & starting solids). We recognise the importantance of this not only in relation to the impact it has on a child’s health, but also the impact it can have on maternal mental health.
We embraced the theme of reducing isolation by taking over 2 of Action for Children’s groups that they were no longer able to fund. One of these became Little Pebbles Nature Walks
We have invested in a robust evaluation process which ensures we are always working closely with the community to meet their needs. We have grown from one drop-in at Barnstaple library to 6 drop-ins a week in various locations, baby massage courses, toddler groups, antenatal and hypnobirthing courses and more! We plan to keep growing and evolving to meet the community’s needs.
Our Story
In 2013 Alice gave birth to her first child; experiencing difficulties with breastfeeding, something which she was keen to do, & having been recommended Hannah’s services by a friend she reached out to Hannah. At this time Hannah herself was also heavily pregnant, but still came out to offer her support at home straight away. Although breastfeeding didn’t go quite as expected for Alice & her baby, Hannah was supportive & non-judgemental; providing Alice with the space to process her experience & ultimately make choices based on what was best for her & her baby.
From there, Hannah & Alice became good friends & started volunteering together in 2014 via the local NCT Branch, with Hannah being a local practitioner & Alice Chairing the branch; both with a passion for support in the perinatal period. At this time they originally trialled a breastfeeding support group in a play cafè in Barnstaple. Sadly the cafè closed and they struggled to find another venue. They decided that moving forward, they needed to make sure they had funds to ensure its sustainability & also the flexibility of being a standalone project rather than part of a national charity.
Our Partners & Sponsors
