nourishing people

We are Nourishing People, a social enterprise run by People Matters.

We create and sell delicious snacks that are developed, tested, packaged and sold by people with disabilities. Through running a real snack‑based business, our trainees gain meaningful work experience, build confidence, and develop skills they can take into paid or voluntary employment.

Nourishing People is trainee‑led. Trainees are involved in every part of the business, from product ideas and production through to marketing, sales and deliveries. Our experienced staff work alongside trainees, offering support, encouragement and structure so everyone can learn and achieve at their own pace.

When you choose Nourishing People, you’re not just buying snacks — you’re supporting people to build skills, independence and brighter futures.

Nourishing People exists to create genuine opportunities.

Our social enterprise gives trainees valuable, transferable skills while increasing confidence, self‑worth and employability. Trainees gain real experience of working as part of a team, meeting expectations, communicating with customers and taking pride in delivering a quality product.

Every snack sold helps us continue this work, with all profits going directly back into People Matters to support adults with learning disabilities and other hidden disabilities to live fulfilling, independent lives.

Develop and produce high‑quality snacks

Provide real work experience in a supportive environment

Build confidence, independence and employment skills

Support people to work towards their personal goals

Create pathways into volunteering or paid work

We offer a delicious range of snacks, created and prepared by our trainees.
All snacks are packaged in 40g bags and cost £1.25 each.

Spice and Rice

A spicy combination of chilli rice bites, smoked almonds and chilli‑coated peanuts. Smoky, tangy and with a gentle kick.

Barbecue Bliss

A sweet and smoky blend of BBQ rice bites, caramelised honey peanuts and sesame crackers.

Harvest Delight

A simply salted mix of pumpkin seeds, roasted broad beans and giant corn — crunchy and satisfying.

Tropical Joy

A sweet and tangy medley of dried pineapple and mango, carob‑coated raisins and blanched almonds.

Want to Join Nourishing People?

Becoming a trainee at Nourishing People means learning real employment skills in a friendly, supportive and empowering environment.
You’ll have the opportunity to develop skills such as:

Confidence

Communication

Numeracy

Independent Travel

You’ll also try different roles within the business, including sales, deliveries, customer service, marketing, IT and administration. Our staff will support you to set goals, track progress and work towards what you want to achieve.

Nourishing People currently runs on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 10:30am – 3:30pm

Paying for Support

There are a few different ways support at Nourishing People can be paid for.

Support funded by Adult Social Care:

Most trainees attend Nourishing People with funding from Adult Social Care.
If you have been assessed as eligible for support, Adult Social Care (for people aged 18+) will usually pay us directly for the sessions you attend. They will also carry out a separate financial assessment to decide whether you need to make a contribution towards the cost of your support.
If a contribution is required, the local authority will bill you directly. We are not involved in financial contribution assessments and are not given details of these, unless you choose to share them with us.

Self‑funding:

Some people choose to pay for their support themselves. This can be done in two ways:
Using direct payments, where you receive a personal budget from the local authority and use this to pay for your support
Private self‑funding, where you pay the full cost of support directly without using direct payments

Cost
As of April 2026, the cost of attending Nourishing People is £59.89 per day.
If you’re unsure which option applies to you, or would like to talk through how funding usually works, we’re very happy to explain things and answer any questions.

If you’re interested in gaining employment skills in a supportive environment, we’d love to hear from you.

Jack – Senior Trainee

I have worked at Nourishing People for 9 years. I am now a Senior Trainee. My favourite part of the job is going on deliveries and meeting new people.
Jack is now one of our senior trainees. He helps other trainees learn the ins and outs.

Josh – Team Leader

Hi I’m Joshua. I work at Nourishing People. I like doing tasks like counting money, stocktake and twisting. I go out for deliveries when I can.
Josh has been with us since the beginning and is at the heart of Nourishing People. He knows the business inside and out.

Stephen – Senior Trainee

I have been at Nourishing people for 3 years. I enjoy doing the quality control of our products to deliver the best for our customers. I enjoy being able to meet new people and keep myself busy.
Stephen’s strengths are in computing and logistics. He gets our invoices ready and keeps our computer files up to date.

Shazad – Trainee

I’m Shazad and I have been in Nourishing People for 3 years. I am a trainee here and I love coming here and meeting my friends, selling snacks and doing stocktaking. It gets me out of the house and keeps my mind occupied.

Richard – Trainee

I like to sell the snacks to our office and on pop-up stalls. I have made really good friends here and my writing, number skills and reading have improved a lot since coming. It’s also helping me with my mood and behaviour.

Ben – Trainee

I like selling snacks in the community and counting snacks into the boxes. I also love tying the string on the snacks and putting the labels on the snacks as well. I have been counting snacks in the stock cupboard.

Mariam – Trainee

I love coming to work at Nourishing People because it gives me the opportunity to connect with new people and I have learnt new skills. I like doing admin the best.

Rayyan – Trainee

I like coming to Nourishing People to learn work skills and use work skills. I am learning to work with other people and learning things along the way.
Supporting Neurodivergent people like me is what Nourishing People is all about

Ian – Trainee

I like coming to Nourishing People because I like learning new skills, like counting money and doing production and making up snack boxes for our customers. I am making new friends and working hard to learn new things. I am focussing on learning money.

Aadam – Trainee

I like to work at NP because: it helps me learn new things and improve my skills like counting and reading. I like doing presentations to tell our customers about us and what we do. I am happy with Nourishing People. I like selling snacks round the building and having a little bit of a joke.

Aria – Trainee

I like Nourishing People because I like doing the money counting, stocktake, deliveries and sales. I like the staff and people. I work one day a week, but I hope my experience here will help me get a better job.

Ali – Trainee

I like coming to Nourishing People because I like to learn new things and make new friends. I really want to get a paid job at the end of my training.

Sophie – Trainee

I like to come to Nourishing People as I like to be here and make new friends. I like to count the snacks and have made a really good friend in Richard. I like how much Jacqui and Vikky help me and make me feel safe.

Dara – Trainee

I feel good when I come here and like to talk to my friends I’ve made. I like counting snacks and money. I love Spice & Rice best

Our Support Staff

Nick
Development Co-ordinator

I currently run Nourishing People and am happy to say that it is member led and rapidly expanding.

Jacqui and Vicki
Job Coaches

Jacqui-
Nourishing People is an amazing, joyful, place to work. Seeing shy, reserved people change before your eyes is so rewarding and it never ceases to amaze me how much our trainees are truly capable of given the right support

Vicki –
I love working for Nourishing People because everyone deserves the chance to grow, contribute and shine, and I get to make that happen every day.

Partnering with Nourishing People means more than providing snacks for your workplace, customers or events.

By choosing to work with us, you’re supporting a trainee‑led social enterprise that creates real opportunities for people with disabilities to gain meaningful work experience, build confidence and develop skills for the future.

Many of the organisations we work with tell us that partnering with Nourishing People helps them live their values in a practical way. It supports their commitment to inclusion, community engagement and social responsibility — and gives staff and customers something positive to connect with and feel proud of.

Some of our partners also choose to share their involvement with Nourishing People as part of their internal communications or wider community work.

We’re always happy to support this with information, photos or stories that help show the real impact of the partnership.

Whether you’re ordering snacks for your office, selling them in your venue, or inviting us to talk to your team, your support makes a genuine difference to the people involved in Nourishing People every day.

A box of 24 snacks costs £30, with all profits going directly back into People Matters to support adults with learning disabilities and other hidden disabilities to live fulfilling, independent lives.

If you’d like to:

Order snacks for your workplace or event

Offer Nourishing People snacks in your venue

Arrange a presentation or workplace visit

Receive a sample box

Learn more about partnering with us

please get in touch using the contact us link

You can contact Nourishing People to:

We’ll only use your information to respond to your enquiry.
Read our Privacy Policy to learn how we look after your data.
Email: info.np@peoplemattersleeds.co.uk
Phone: 07311819872
Office: 0113 234 6896