Always Included:
- • Memory Makers software access
- • Branded, forever-hosted Memory Bank
- • Full consent & safeguarding toolkit
- • Setup support
- • Marketing Toolkit (graphics, posters, badge)
- • Mini Impact Report template
Nantwich Food Festival Memory Bench
Project Overview
The Community Story Hub CIC was invited to take part in Nantwich Food Festival 2026, bringing our Memory Bench to Cocoa Yard.
With food all around us, we used one simple theme to start conversations:
What food takes you back?
Visitors stopped to share childhood favourites, family recipes, foods they loved — and sometimes hated — meals remembered from holidays, and dishes connected with parents and grandparents.
But the conversations quickly showed that food was often only the starting point.
Behind the meals were stories about family, childhood, friendship, place, identity, tradition and belonging.
Food was the prompt. People were the story.
Who it was for
The Memory Bench was open to anyone attending Nantwich Food Festival.
We spoke with people of different ages and backgrounds, including local residents, families, visitors to Nantwich and people involved in delivering the festival itself. There was no requirement to prepare a story or have something particularly significant to share. People simply needed to be willing to stop and have a conversation.
Why it mattered
People don't always think of their everyday memories as stories worth preserving.
Asking somebody to tell you their life story can feel like a big question. Asking about something familiar — a meal, a smell, a recipe or a food from childhood — gives people somewhere much easier to begin.
At Nantwich, those small questions repeatedly opened into something bigger.
A digestive biscuit with jam and cheese became a memory of a grandmother and father:
“It always gives me happy warm memories.”
A homemade pie became a family tradition still passed between generations:
“In our house, it's known as Nana's pie.”
And a memory of butterfly cakes wasn't simply about the cakes themselves, but the feeling of arriving home while Mum had been baking:
“You'd just walk in the house… and it would just smell of cake.”
These are small details, but they are often the details that disappear if nobody thinks to ask.
What we did
We created a simple, informal storytelling space in the middle of the festival. Rather than using a formal interview or questionnaire, visitors were invited to sit down and talk. Food provided the starting point, with questions around favourite foods, childhood meals, family cooking and the memories attached to them. From there, the conversation was allowed to develop naturally. Some stayed with food, others travelled into memories of parents and grandparents, holidays, hometowns, friendships, neighbourhoods, sport and personal experiences.
With permission, selected conversations were recorded so those voices and memories could be preserved rather than disappearing when the festival ended.
What we created
During approximately four hours at the festival we captured:
14 recorded conversations and clips
11 recordings directly exploring food or food memories
Stories spanning family, childhood, friendship, travel, place, humour and loss
Alongside the recorded material were many more informal conversations with people who stopped at the Memory Bench, asked about the project or shared a memory without being recorded.
The recordings created a collection of authentic community voices that can now be shared through video, audio, short extracts, quotes and this project page.
The impact
The strongest finding was remarkably simple:
People rarely remembered food on its own.
They remembered who made it, who they shared it with, where they were and how it made them feel.
Young Cameron chose his mum's chicken dinner as his favourite food. When asked what made it special, he didn't talk about the ingredients:
“The way she puts her work and effort into it.”
Ethel's childhood memory was rather less sentimental. Growing up as one of eight children, she remembered her mum as a fantastic cook — although the family's much-loved combination of tuna, sweetcorn, tomatoes, cheese and crisps was another matter:
“Everybody loved it except me because it was really revolting.”
Humour proved just as powerful a memory trigger as nostalgia.
In another conversation, what began with fish and chips quickly moved into memories of Liverpool streets, churches, shops, family homes and neighbourhoods.
At one point, simply mentioning a familiar street produced the response:
“Memories, yeah — it's gone back.”
That perhaps captures the Memory Bench at its best.
One familiar question can unlock a completely unexpected story.
What happened next
The recordings captured at Nantwich have been brought together to create a lasting record of the afternoon, allowing some of the people we met to be heard in their own words rather than their stories simply being written about afterwards.
The experience also gave us a simple model that can be repeated elsewhere.
A Memory Bench doesn't need its own event. It can be placed inside the places where communities are already gathering — festivals, agricultural shows, sporting events, schools, heritage days and community celebrations.
And the question can change with the setting.
At Nantwich it was:
What food takes you back?
Somewhere else it might be:
What's the match you'll never forget?
What's your earliest memory of this town?
What's changed most during your lifetime?
The important thing isn't necessarily the subject.
It's creating the invitation to stop, remember and talk.
⚙️ How It Works
One platform. Three powerful paths to legacy.
Whether you're a family member, a community volunteer, or a town council – there’s a way to preserve stories that matter.
Care & Community Memory Banks
“Together, we remember.”
Personal Legacies
“Capture the moments that matter.”
Memory Trails
“The voices of yesterday. The gift for tomorrow.”
Care & Community Memory Banks
📍 “Together, we remember.”
Create a shared space where voices, photos, and stories from your community can live on — beautifully preserved and easy to share.
We partner with care homes, dementia groups, veteran charities, and health & wellbeing projects to celebrate lives and capture stories that might otherwise be lost.
Staff or volunteers can record conversations with residents or members. Each story is saved to a branded online Memory Bank and can be turned into a printed Flipbook for families and loved ones.
This isn’t just about stories — it’s about connection, dignity, and legacy.
Benefits:
✔️ Celebrate and honour residents’ lives
✔️ Strengthen bonds between staff, families & communities
✔️ Provide meaningful activities for wellbeing programmes
✔️ Demonstrate your organisation’s impact through stories
🎖 “This helps us celebrate our residents and show our impact.”
– Care Partner
Personal Legacy for Families & Friends
🎁 “Capture the moments that matter.”
Because the sound of a loved one’s voice, their stories, and their laughter are treasures no photo can replace.
Families can use our software to record voice or video conversations and upload photos. Each story is saved securely in a private Memory Bank — a lasting gift for current and future generations.
Perfect For:
👵 Grandparents’ memories
🌸 End-of-life reflections
🎂 Milestone birthdays or anniversaries
💌 Meaningful personal gifts
What You Get (Core Package):
✔️ Easy-to-use recording software
✔️ Private, secure Memory Bank webpage
✔️ Lifetime access for your family
✔️ Full safeguarding and consent process
Optional Upgrades:
🖨️ Flipbook Keepsake – from £TBC
🎞️ Highlight Video Reel – from £ TBC
💌 Legacy Letters Kit – from £ TBC
📀 USB Archive Box – from £ TBC
🧳 Family Pack Add-On – from £ TBC
💬 “We now have Grandma’s voice, her stories, and her laughter — saved forever.”
– Family Member
Memory Trails for Towns & Places
“The voices of yesterday. The gift for tomorrow.”
Turn your town, park, or heritage site into a living museum — where every location has a story to tell.
We help councils, schools, and community groups create interactive Memory Trails — story points placed around towns, parks, and heritage sites.
Visitors scan a QR code to instantly listen to real voices from the past — residents, workers, and families who shaped your local history, or alternatively can record their own memories for future visitors.
Perfect For:
🌳 Forests, parks & footpaths
🏛 Local heritage projects
🎉 Civic events & festivals
🏫 Schools and educational trails
Benefits:
✔️ Brings local history to life
✔️ Encourages walking, exploring, and learning
✔️ Supports civic pride and tourism
✔️ Simple QR tech – no app needed for visitors
“One scan. One voice. A world of meaning.”
– Community Project Lead
🧡 Everyone has a story. Let’s keep them alive.
💰 Packages
🧰 Everything you need to preserve a story — beautifully and safely.
Package
Family Starter
- Credits: 4
- Best For: Individuals or small families
- Cost: £TBC
Package
Small Group
- Credits: 8
- Best For: Support groups, carers, or friends
- Cost: £TBC
Package
Medium Group
- Credits: 16
- Best For: Community groups or organisations
- Cost: £TBC
Package
Large Group
- Credits: 24+
- Best For: Councils, care homes, or trails
- Cost: £TBC
One credit = one person’s recorded story + photos + digital hosting.
Selected: —
— credits
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🧠 About Memory Makers
Memory Makers is a purpose-led storytelling business based in the UK.
We help people of all ages preserve the voices and stories that matter — from care homes to classrooms, from councils to families.
Our roots are in poetry, creativity, and community. And everything we do is guided by one belief:
If a story is worth living, it’s worth remembering.
Ready to start a conversation that lasts a lifetime?
Whether you're a family, care provider, or community leader, we'd love to help.
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