We might be more connected than ever through technology – but with the stress and busyness of everyday life, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and disconnected in today’s world. When we’re overstretched and under pressure, one of the first things to go can be our connection to the community around us.
This sense of connection is worth prioritising. It’s key to our long-term wellbeing, and plays a big role in protecting and maintaining our mental health.
At Olio, we’re all too aware of that. While our app started out as a way to share surplus food and reduce waste in our homes, what’s emerged over time is something much more than that: a network of people connecting with one another in small, but meaningful ways.
In fact, 75% of Olio-ers told us that sharing on Olio has had a positive impact on their mental health, and 65% said they’ve made new friends through the app.
That’s one of the reasons we’ve partnered with the Mental Health Foundation: to explore how everyday actions and community connections can support our mental health in simple, practical ways.
But how exactly does community benefit mental health?
Why connection is so powerful
According to the Mental Health Foundation, feeling connected to others and being part of a community plays an important role in protecting and maintaining our mental health.
Stronger social connections are linked to:
✅ Reduced feelings of loneliness and isolation
✅ Lower stress and anxiety
✅ Improved overall mood and resilience
✅ A sense of belonging and purpose
Loneliness and isolation
Loneliness, especially long-term loneliness, increases the risk of mental health conditions like anxiety, depression and stress. Feeling socially isolated can also reduce our resilience to stress, meaning we find it more difficult to cope in stressful situations.
On the flip side, regular social interactions can help us feel less isolated and protect our mental health, reducing our risk of anxiety and depression.
“Olio and its community have undoubtedly changed my life. There are no words for how much my friends’ actions meant to me; I can’t thank them enough for the number of barriers they helped me break down. Olio also continually gives me purpose by providing a platform for me to find broken things, fix things and of course reduce my food bill. It’s a huge part of my life. “ Olio-er Craigy from Hemel Hempstead (read his full story)
Lower stress and anxiety
People with strong social networks tend to experience less stress and fewer mental health struggles.
This could be because community support helps people with mental health difficulties to manage their symptoms and feel less alone.
Also, having a strong community around us helps to protect us against common mental health issues in the first place. So, people with strong social networks may be less likely to experience mental ill-health.
Improved mood and resilience
When we have strong connections to the people around us, we tend to feel more satisfied with our lives and happier overall.
Having a strong community can help when we’re going through a difficult time, especially during periods when stressful events happen unexpectedly.
Belonging and purpose
We’re social creatures and our need to “belong” links back to our survival instincts, when living in groups gave us more protection from predators.
Having strong connections to our community helps us feel like we belong, which can improve our mood. Interestingly, feeling like we belong can also reduce our heart rate, and activate the brain regions that calm us down in stressful moments.
Being part of a community also gives us a sense of purpose. Taking part in community activities like volunteering, boosts our self-esteem, confidence and overall wellbeing.
“Volunteering with Olio has changed my life – I’m doing something meaningful, helping others, and for once, I feel proud of myself. I’m loving every minute of it.”Olio-er Teresa from Newcastle (read her full story)
Finding your community with Olio
Building a sense of community isn’t always straightforward.
For many of us, things like time, confidence, or simply the pace of everyday life can make it harder to form new connections, even when we know they would be good for us. It’s not always about joining a new club or putting yourself out there in a big way. More often, it starts with smaller, more manageable interactions.
That’s part of what makes Olio different.
Connection on Olio doesn’t rely on having lots of time or a wide social circle. It happens in simple, low-pressure ways – through sharing something you no longer need, arranging a pick-up, or exchanging a few sentences over a doorstep. These moments might be brief, but they can still create a sense of familiarity and trust over time.
For some people, that might be all it is. For others, those small interactions gradually build into real friendships!
The power of small actions
If you’re using Olio, you’re already taking part in something that brings people closer together.
Every time you list an item, collect surplus food as a Food Waste Hero, request something, or connect with someone locally, you’re contributing to a wider sense of community – often without thinking about it in those terms.
A quick doorstep conversation. A message that says thank you. Recognising someone’s name from a previous exchange.
Individually, these moments may feel small. But collectively, they help build the kind of everyday connection that we know is important for our mental health.
And if you’d like to build a little more of that into your day, you might try:
✅ Starting a short conversation at a collection
✅ Sending a friendly message instead of a quick one
✅ Listing something you no longer need
✅ Taking a moment to say thank you
None of these are big actions. But together, they help create a stronger sense of connection.