Food and Agriculture: Growing Together; Community Food Systems - Ireland
Transcript of Food and Agriculture: Growing Together; Community Food Systems - Ireland
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Food and Agriculture- Growing Together; Community Food
Systems
The problem
A community food system is one in which sustainable food production,
processing, distribution and consumption are integrated to enhance the
environmental, economic, and social and nutritional health of a particular
place. This is a goal towards which many communities are now striving.
Across the country, communities are initiating diverse projects that develop
connections between different parts of the food system.
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Market development/Market supply/Changing behaviour
Get Ireland Growing is a campaign run by the Green Party to encourage people to grow theirown food in order to stay healthy, save air miles, learn new skills, get the family involved and
enhance community involvement.
The National Community Garden Association was formed in Nov 2008 with support fromWicklow Community Gardening Network, Cultivate Centre, Climate Champions, Soul Food
group and the Organic Centre. Plots of land have been found in all manner of ways: donated
by parish priests and schools for use by local schoolchildren.
The Organic Centre in Leitrim runs a school garden project as part of their Peace &Environment Programme, they currently work with 6 primary schools in Enniskillen, Garrison
and Rossinver. Experienced gardeners from The Organic Centre work with teachers and
children in each of the schools to create an organic kitchen garden growing vegetables,
fruit, herbs and flowers.
Irish Community Food Growing: http://irishcommunityfoodgrowing.org/ is a network for
Community Gardens and Allotments across the country.
Mechanisms and supporting measures
Government
The Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund promotes sustainable development
by assisting small, non-profit environmental projects at a local level. Any project that will
improve local levels of environmental awareness, or help to build greener more sustainable
communities can apply for funding.
Community
Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOFGA) is Irelands leading organic
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certification body dedicated to certifying organic produce and products throughout Ireland.
IOFGA has been at the forefront of the organic movement in Ireland since it was established
in 1982.
Best Practices
Community Supported ArgicultureThe Cloughjordan Community Farm is located on a 21 acre farm on the
outskirts of the village and also utilises two fields on the ecovillage land.
Members are encouraged to get involved in the planting, weeding, and in the
management of the farm. This CSA is very much community driven but other
CSA systems are farmer led. For a farmer a CSA can provide a small but
secure income and the involvement of the community can overcome feelings
of isolation and loneliness so rife in that sector.
Community GardensThe Organic Centre in County Leitrim supports 20 food growing intiatives and
country wide community gardens are appearing rapidly. In Galway the
Ballybane Community Organic Garden was set up in 2004 through the
initiative of the local Ballybane/Mervue CDP (community development
partnership).The South Circular Road Food Garden Project began in April
2007.
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www.bigfoto.com
Growing Together - Community Food Systems
Context
A community food system is one inwhich sustainable food production,
processing, distribution and consumption are integrated to enhance the
environmental, economic, and social and nutritional health of a particular
place. This is a goal towards which many communities are now striving.
Across the country, communities are initiating diverse projects that developconnections between different parts of the food system. One of the most
central aspects of these projects is increased participation by local residents in
working to secure better access to an to an adequate, affordable, nutritious
diet which is produced locally. Creating more direct and beneficial links
between farmers and consumers will be essential in an oil scarce future and to
help rebuild our local economies and support Irish farmers and food producers
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we need to, whenever possible, buy Irish produce. By shopping local we can
also reduce the resources used to move food between producers and
consumers while at the same time reducing our carbon emissions. By
developing food and agriculture-related businesses that create jobs, re-
circulate financial capital in the community, or in other ways, contribute to the
communitys economic development will be essential way to build the
resilience of our communities. Community Gardens and Community
Supported Agriculture projects are gaining momentum.
Community Gardens are run by the community and used for growing herbs,
flowers, vegetables and fruit and sometimes for conserving rare plants and
seeds. As well as providing a place to grow and learn to grow food the
strength in a community garden is as a place to get to know others living in
your community. They often offer somewhere to reduce your household waste
by using communal composting systems as is the case in Stiric Garden in
Stonybatter. A CSA, a community supported agriculture project takes community food
production to a new level. There are now thousands of CSAs around the
world and they come in many forms. They provide fresh, high-quality, local
food which typically use organic or biodynamic growing methods. Typically
members pay a weekly subscription and pick up a share of produce every
week. Importantly they also share in the risk, if there is a crop failure the
members share the loss. Many systems encourage members to work on the
farm in exchange for a portion of their membership fee. CSAs can also be a
way to help small farmers remain economically viable in these difficult times.
For many members this system is a way to take responsibility for how our food
is produced and to reduce the distance from the field to our plates.
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Policy relevance and policy references
In October 2009 The Green Party and Fianna Fail agreed a Renewed
Programme for Government in order to govern in coalition. The following is an
extract:
We will continue to support family farms through a more targetedscheme of on-farm investment. We will also continue to support low-
income farmers through the Farm Assist Scheme and adapt it in
consultation with the relevant farming organisations
We will ensure the achievement of the target of 5% of land in organicagriculture and meet the growing demand for domestically produced
organic produce by providing adequate resources and supports for the
achievement of the target, with a focus on import substitution in areas
where Ireland is under-producing at present e.g. horticulture. Beginning
in 2010, and rising in subsequent years, we will step up supports for the
Organic Farming Scheme for conversion to organic production, Capital
Grants for the Organic Sector and Non-Capital costs.
We will conduct a review of our National Food Security Policy todevelop resilience in food production capacity to future proof against
substantial rises in price and diminishing availability of oil and to meet
the challenge of Climate Change.
We will ensure that new public procurement guidelines for food includecriteria based on giving greater weight to sustainable local produce,
seasonal menus and organic production, building on good practice in
other EU countries in this area.
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We will review standards to ensure that micro-production and directselling by producers are not impeded, building on good practice from
other EU countries
We will promote and support a network of farmers' markets at Local Authority level to encourage more direct selling from producers to
consumers.
We will develop a template for the establishment of farm-gate shopsand ensure that the necessary legislative arrangements are made to
facilitate this.
Key messages for the listeners of the radio show
We need to improve access by all community members to an adequate,
affordable, nutritious diet this can be helped by establishing community
gardens. As well as places to grow food and learn how best to do that,
community gardens are a fantastic way to meet your neighbors. Community
Supported Agriculture is another way people can get involved in food
production and support local producers. CSAs can also be a way to help
small farmers remain economically viable in these difficult times. For many
this system is a way to take responsibility for how our food is produced and to
reduce the distance from the field to our plates.
Intro for the radio programme
In this weeks show we are going to explore, community gardens, food
cooperatives and a new idea called a CSA, a community supported agriculture
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project or a community farm. We are going to hear about the Community
Supported Agriculture initiative in Cloughjordan, talk about the Dublin Food
Cooperative in Newmarket Street and explore why we need to build
community food systems as well as growing some food ourselves.
Market development- supply/ Changing behavior
Get Ireland Growing is a campaign run by the Green Party to encouragepeople to grow their own food in order to stay healthy, save air miles, learn
new skills, get the family involved and enhance community involvement.
The National Community Garden Association was formed in Nov 2008 withsupport from Wicklow Community Gardening Network, Cultivate Centre,
Climate Champions, Soul Food group and the Organic Centre. Plots of land
have been found in all manner of ways: donated by parish priests and schools
for use by local schoolchildren.
The Organic Centre in Leitrim runs a school garden project as part of theirPeace & Environment Programme, they currently work with 6 primary
schools in Enniskillen, Garrison and Rossinver. Experienced gardeners from
The Organic Centre work with teachers and children in each of the schools to
create an organic kitchen garden growing vegetables, fruit, herbs and
flowers. The project promotes eco-literacy within the context of the primary
curriculum, and draws upon best practices in collaborative and self-directed
learning. As well as learning to grow their own food, the weekly gardening
sessions cover a wide range of environmental issues such as composting,
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recycling, and the interconnectedness of natural eco-systems. Most
importantly, the children learn to work with nature, not against it. The project
also involves cross-community sessions based at the Organic Centre, where
children from both main religious communities engage in shared activities that
further develop their environmental awareness. The schools also come
together for a shared harvest celebration. Understanding the importance of
natural bio-diversity and inter-connectedness can be a very effective way for
children to learn the value of religious and cultural diversity.
Irish Community Food Growing: http://irishcommunityfoodgrowing.org/ is a
network for Community Gardens and Allotments across the country.
Supporting mechanism
GovernmentThe Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund promotes sustainable
development by assisting small, non-profit environmental projects at a local
level.
Some of the projects supported to date have included community gardens,
allotments and composting schemes as well as rainwater harvesting schemes,
educational initiatives and environmental projects. The fund has also assisted
Galway and Limerick in attaining fair-trade city status.The Department of
Environment provides a total grant of 350,000 for the fund. This grant is
matched by the local authorities, bringing the total fund to 700,000. To
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qualify for this fund projects should complement national environmental
policies such as Waste, Biodiversity, Climate Change and Sustainable
Development. Any project that will improve local levels of environmental
awareness, or help to build greener more sustainable communities can apply
for funding.
CommunityIrish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOFGA) is Irelands leading
organic certification body dedicated to certifying organic produce and products
throughout Ireland.
IOFGA has been at the forefront of the organic movement in Ireland since it
was established in 1982. Over twenty five years of experience in certifying,
training and networking with organic farmers has placed the association in a
unique position to serve a dynamic and growing organic market. IOFGA is avoluntary organisation and a company limited by guarantee with a
membership open to all. It has an elected board of directors and is supported
by a membership of over one thousand people.
Best Practices
Community Supported ArgicultureThe Cloughjordan Community Farm is located on a 21 acre farm on the
outskirts of the village and also utilises two fields on the ecovillage land.
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Members are encouraged to get involved in the planting, weeding, and in the
management of the farm. This CSA is very much community driven but other
CSA systems are farmer led. For a farmer a CSA can provide a small but
secure income and the involvement of the community can overcome feelings
of isolation and loneliness so rife in that sector. The Stroud Community
Agriculture project, one of the more established CSAs in England, has regular
activities and celebrations to encourage members to get involved. Monthly
workdays, farm walks, barbecues and picnics all help to cultivate community
as well as cultivating the land. Community farms can also make connections
with wider members of the community such as local councils, schools,
educational institutions and voluntary organisations
Community GardensThe Organic Centre in County Leitrim supports 20 food growing intiatives and
country wide community gardens are appearing rapidly. In Galway the
Ballybane Community Organic Garden was set up in 2004 through the
initiative of the local Ballybane/Mervue CDP (community development
partnership). Three years on the project is thriving. Crops grown to date
include potatoes, corn, lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, coriander and runner
beans. The project is supported by Galway City Council, which provided a
site, HSE West, RAPID (Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment &
Development), NUI Galway, the VEC and Ballybane/ Mervue CDP.
The South Circular Road Food Garden Project began in April 2007 when a
collective from the recently evicted Dolphins Barn Garden (2005-2006)
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decided to continue the project on a new site. They have a derelict site, once
a car park on loan from ST Salvage Company that they have converted into a
community food garden. http://southcirculargarden.blogspot.com/
BOX Graphs/data and bibliography
Renewed Programme for Government 2009
http://www.greenparty.ie/en/government/renewed_programme_for_governmen
t
Allotments.ie has been developed as an information source for all Irish
gardeners wishing to grow their own food.www.allotments.ie
Grow It Yourself Irelandwww.giyireland.com
Get Ireland Growing:http://www.getgrowing.ie/
South Dublin Allotment Association:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~sthduballots/
Kinvara Sustainable Living http://www.kinvarasustainableliving.com/
Irish Network of Community Gardening http://irishcommunitygardening.org/
Cork Food Webhttp://corkfoodweb.ning.com/
Irish Allotments http://www.irishallotments.net/The Organic Centre:http://www.organiccentre.ie/
IOFGAhttp://iofga.org/
http://www.allotments.ie/http://www.allotments.ie/http://www.allotments.ie/http://www.giyireland.com/http://www.giyireland.com/http://www.giyireland.com/http://www.getgrowing.ie/http://www.getgrowing.ie/http://www.getgrowing.ie/http://corkfoodweb.ning.com/http://corkfoodweb.ning.com/http://corkfoodweb.ning.com/http://www.organiccentre.ie/http://www.organiccentre.ie/http://www.organiccentre.ie/http://iofga.org/http://iofga.org/http://iofga.org/http://iofga.org/http://www.organiccentre.ie/http://corkfoodweb.ning.com/http://www.getgrowing.ie/http://www.giyireland.com/http://www.allotments.ie/ -
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Finding Allotments:Fingal County Council: Almost 500 new allotments will open in Powerstown
and Donabate in 2009.
Dublin City Council: Dublin City Council is working on a range of allotment
plots. De Courcey Sqaure plots in Glasnevin are due to open this year.
South Dublin County Council: In Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Bohernabreena
and Tallaght.
Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council: 100 allotments exist at Mount
Anville.
Other private allotments or community gardens exist in:
Organic Centre, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal Bantry House, Cork Grow your own Turid, Oldcaslte, Co. Meath Finglas Community Garden South Circular Road Garden GalwayBallynane, Westside, Ballyloughan Road Sitric garden, Stoneybatter, Dublin
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