comment-life and food-1 life and food

I interpreted the "life and food" metaphor as figurative language dealing with memory. In the same stanza, Wordsworth writes that "the picture of the mind revives again", meaning that memory is sustainable and retreavable if it makes a lasting impression. So in that case, a memorable experience with nature can nourish the mind by having a residue, in the form of a memory, that can last "for future years". Along the same vein, the mental image infuses a vitality that gives the observer a will to live.