Open Food Network Ireland

Delighted to welcome the newest food hub to the OFN community!

If you're near Newbridge, Co.Kildare check out the Local Market Hub Newbridge. Orders open until midnight tomorrow, Tuesday, for collection on Thursday evening.



Shop here
https://openfoodnetwork.ie/newbridge-local-market-hub/shop #/shop_panel

Anyone doing the 30 Day Local Food Challenge this year?

30 Day Local Food Challenge - Lisa Fingleton 30 Day Local Food Challenge Join the this September to eat fresh local food, reduce air miles and support local growers. If the food is organic/chemical free you also are doing your part to protect soil, biodiversity, water and health. Lots of things about our food system bo...

This week you can order our plastic free dried food for collection at Zero Waste Maynooth on Saturday afternoon.
You can order through our Open Food Network Ireland page https://openfoodnetwork.ie/bare-necessities/shop #/shop where you can also see our full pricelist. Alternatively you can order by messaging us here or emailing us.

After a little break, we are back at the Skerries Mills Farmers Market this Saturday.
If you are in a rush on the day, or want to preorder your items you can order for collection at the Skerries Mills market through our page on Open Food Network Ireland. Orders close at noon on Friday https://openfoodnetwork.ie/bare-necessities/shop

You can also order for collection in Sonairte on Sunday, or for nationwide delivery, through https://openfoodnetwork.ie/sonairte_eco/shop

All orders will be packaged in paper bags or sterilised jars.

Get in touch if you'd like to hear more about our project to support local community Food Hubs.
[email protected]

🌱 Climate Action and Local Food 🌱

We are delighted to have recently received funding to help support community hubs, together with and we will be looking to create a peer-learning network for both existing and new community food hubs. We will be hosting an online session this Wednesday the 8th of June at 12:30am.

All are welcome so please email [email protected] to register your interest in attending.

You can also check out our mailchimp page, just click the link in our bio.

Our Online Zoom Meeting starts next Tuesday at 4pm !

These new community garden Online Zoom Meetings will start up on Tuesday 2nd May at 4pm, these monthly meetings will then take place on the first Tuesday of every month at the same time .

The online sessions will allow all community gardens in Donegal to introduce their gardens via virtual tours, knowledge share among growers via monthly tips and tricks and also to find out the most recent funding and supports available.

This will all allow for improved interaction throughout the county and to keep everyone informed and up to date.

Membership onto the Donegal community garden network includes attendance to these meet up’s so please do make sure your garden has at least one representative present every month.
DLDC Community Gardens Ireland Pobail Le Chéile Cara House Family Resource Centre Barrack Hill Town Park & Community Gardens Carndonagh Dunkineely Community ltd. Forbairt Na Rosann Dungloe Downstrands Family Resource Centre Doochary Development Irish Wheelchair Association Coiste Forbartha Chnoc Fola Dunfanaghy Community Garden Lifford Community Garden Mevagh Family Resource Centre Niall Mór Community and Enterprise Centre Tir Boghaine An Mhainnear - Gairdín Pobail Eascarrach Bundoran Community Garden Ards Walled Garden Community Project

To register for the Zoom meetings please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwsfuqtqD4sHNxZl0-zFQEvvD5S_jyezbrx #/registration

Order your package free staples from Bare Necessities Ireland's new online shopfront.

Exciting news! You can now pre-order your food staples for collection in Skerries Mills Farmers Market on Saturday, on our new page on Open Food Network Ireland. https://openfoodnetwork.ie/bare-necessities/shop
We will also have our full range of food at our stall in Skerries Mills this Saturday.

Alternatively you can order for collection in Sonairte on Sunday through https://openfoodnetwork.ie/sonairte_eco/shop

All orders will be packaged in paper bags or sterilised jars.

🥕 We are hiring & we would love for you to join our team! 🍅

🌿 This weekend is your last chance to apply for this position as application closing date is 30th April. This position would suit someone very passionate about organics as knowledge of the organic horticultural sector is a must! Flexible working hours & working from home!

🌱 Full job description available here: https://organicgrowersireland.ie/ogi-jobs/

I have had a couple of requests to do a 10kg box of beef - so there you go it's in the online shop waiting to be pre-ordered!

"We must support all efforts to maintain and build cooperative systems to ensure food producers get a fair price for their produce and that they have enough leverage in negotiating prices."

Peppers not the only food at risk of shortage as supermarket rationing possible The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems believe food security and hunger will worsen unless corporate influence in the sector is confronted

Looking forward to our session with Organic Growers of Ireland (OGI) this Wednesday evening.

email Kitty at [email protected] for the Zoom link if you'd like to come along.

🥕 Did you read our recent interview with Open Food Network Ireland (OFN) circulated in our March newsletter (available here: https://organicgrowersireland.ie/open-food-network-ireland/)? Or maybe some of you have connected with OFN Ireland at the Feeding Ourselves Gathering in Cloughjordan last month?

🌿 If you are interested to know how OFN Ireland can benefit you as a grower to sell your produce online or supply a Hub in your area then join us for an online update for OGI Network members on Wednesday 26th April at 7.30p.m.

🍅 It will be an interactive online meeting where Evonne from OFN will talk us through selling online and discuss ideas around collaborating with other food producers to create a Hub in your area.

🌱 If you are interested in attending, please email OGI Network coordinator Kitty for the zoom meeting invite link at [email protected].

There is nothing in this world that good food cannot fix.

Come help us celebrate a decade of the Permaculture Design Course at Carraig Dulra! Bookings open for this year's course. https://dulra.org/courses/pdc For more information, booking options and queries.

Still a few places remaining on next Saturdays workshops; Soil & Nutrition and Creating an Orchard 🌱🍎

Find out more and book your place here 👇
https://irishseedsavers.ie/product-category/workshops/spring-workshops/

Summer workshops are now available to book including A Beginners Guide to Birdwatching, An Introduction to Scything, Sustainable Beekeeping & Log Hives, Composting & Green Manures, Design your own Permaculture Garden, The Art of Fermentation, Wild Food Foraging and much more.....

Check out the full listing here 👇

https://irishseedsavers.ie/product-category/workshops/summer-workshops/

Hearty organic vegetarian and vegan lunches, cakes and tea / coffee available onsite by The Night Orchard pop-up cafe for all workshops weekends 🥣🍰☕️

This Saturday you can find us at the Skerries Mills Farmers Market from 10-2.

You can also place orders for nationwide delivery or collection in Sonairte on Sunday.

You can place you orders through Open Food Network Ireland for delivery or collection in Sonairte here: https://openfoodnetwork.ie/sonairte_eco/shop #/shop

Great tips here from our friends at OFN UK.

We’re always looking to help our community thrive 🌟

And we think the best way to increase your food enterprise’s revenue is by increasing your customers' basket size 🧺

Find out the most effective ways to increase basket spend in this webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tooi_4Im6u8&ab_channel=OpenFoodNetwork

Delighted to feature in this month's edition of the Organic Growers of Ireland (OGI) Newsletter, which is packed full of interesting news for the organic growing sector.

Read all about us in the link below and subscribe for future editions to stay in the loop!

https://mailchi.mp/b26d57ed2682/ogi-newsletter-march-6036463

Feeding Ourselves 2023 this weekend. Looks great!

Great work underway at Shy by Nature Farm

Currently in the middle of making up no dig beds here. If anyone has any contacts for lots of larger pieces of plain brown cardboard in south Donegal, do let us know. We are very grateful to the guys at Bundoran Surf Co for their help so far!

We're inspired by the Open Food Network UK Annual Report 2022.
Well done to the team!

We are excited to announce the launch of our 2022 Annual Report! 🌟

Last year was a big one for us - including major changes to the team, to our organisational structure and to the software.

This visually-delicious report is packed with information and was crafted with pride by our Communications Circle member, Liberty.

Curious? Feel free to browse at your leisure! ⬇️
https://about.openfoodnetwork.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Final-Annual-report-2022-compressed.pdf

North Tipperary Online Farmers Market The North Tipperary Online Farmers Market has a two-weekly collection point in Cloughjordan Ecovillage, specialising in high quality food and crafts that are locally made or produced.

Looking forward to this afternoon's session of Feeding Ourselves, our capacity building programme for local food initiatives.

Drop a line to [email protected] if you'd like to join us.

Really looking forward to working this weekend with our friends at Síolta Chroí and others involved in or planning Food Hubs across the county. We'll consider what's working, where the challenges are and what kind of supports are needed to help Food Hubs thrive in Ireland.
We believe there's huge potential to fix our broken food system and support livelihoods in the sector if we can support more Food Hubs in our towns and cities.

We'll let you know what we find out together as we share experiences and expertise.

I sell pasture raised pork in 10kg boxes which are delivered chilled all over Ireland - a 10kg box contains a selection of cuts and costs €14/kg.

Did you know not all pork is equal - the way your pork is raised has a huge impact on flavour and nutritional content, not to mention the animals welfare and the environment.

99% of Irelands pigs are reared indoors - 40% of the pig population live in pig factories of over 10000 animals.

One thing I found out recently from a Teagasc podcast is that antibiotics are often used in these factory farms to fight of deadly diseases that occur from overcrowded living conditions - and this drug use is contributing to antibiotic resistance in humans! - antibiotic resistance is one of the top ten global public health threats as determined by the World Health Organisation.

Just one reason why it is important to choose pasture raised pork for your next meal - the healthier and more ethical option.

Pork Boxes can be pre-ordered in my online store.

This looks great!

Join the Irish Seed Savers Community Seed Share event on Saturday 25th February from 12 to 4pm.

The Community Seed Exchange is one of our biggest events of the year where we invite individuals, gardening and community groups to come together and share / swop seeds.

This event forms a large part of our ethos at Irish Seed Savers, bringing communities together to promote biodiversity, share stories and to help protect rare open-pollinated heirloom varieties for future generations.

By sharing seeds, we are also building a more resilient food system.
Book your ticket at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/2023-community-seed-exchange-tickets-524367095097?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

€6 General Entry
Free for Children & Irish Seed Savers Supporters.

Cafe open 12 to 4pm with delicious food by the EastClare Co-op Garden Cafe 😋



The Clare Champion The Clare Echo Burrenbeo Trust The Clare Herald Limerick Leader Irish Examiner Irish Times Life & Style Irish Times Culture Independent.ie Life Mary Reynolds. Nature activist and reformed landscape designer Irish Farmers Journal Irish Country Magazine GreenNews HortiDaily Agriland.ie Limerick Post Newspaper Irish Tech News The Sunday Times Ireland Horticultureconnected Bord Bia - Irish Food Board Fáilte Ireland Garden.ie & The Irish Garden magazine Clare Garden Festival Clare Local Development Company Clare County Council Visit East Clare Visit Clare

Feeding Ourselves continues tomorrow with Module 4 on the topic of Sociocracy/Dynamic Governance - Meetings

It's important to us to design meetings that work, where everyone is heard, processes are fair and transparent.
Join us tomorrow as we hear from Ted & Shala at Sociocracy For All about a few techniques and principles which can help us have improved and enjoyable meetings, with more clarity, inclusion and forward motion.

More info on this capacity building series and registration form at https://www.solidnetwork.ie/post/upskilling-local-food-initiatives

We're hosting our monthly Lunchtime drop-in session this Wednesday at 12.30-1.30pm for members of our Feeding Ourselves network and anyone involved or interested in the regenerative, cooperative and community food space.

This will be an opportunity to share experiences and strengthen the solidarity food movement in Ireland.
Do drop in, we'd love to chat!

Email [email protected] for zoom details.

Cloughjordan Community Farm
Dublin Food Co-op, Kilmainham
East Clare Community Co-op Scariff
Doon Social Farm
TalamhBeo
Sonairte
Síolta Chroí
Donegal Food Growers Network
OURganic Gardens

Great opportunity available with Cloughjordan Community Farm!

If you:
want to spend a year learning about how to grow lots of different type of vegetables and herbs;
Like to put your hands in the soil and
Don’t care about getting wet in winter (note - we have good waterproofs!) this project is for you!
If you're passionate about organic farming and want to learn more skills, even better.
We welcome self-motivated individuals who are interested in healthy food and local food systems, enjoy working as part of a team and would like more experience of working cooperatively, and are keen to learn practical skills to address the climate and biodiversity crisis while experiencing community life in an Ecovillage.

Must be between 18-30 (we don't make the rules!) (photo of previous volunteers, Jeorg and Noelia. Photo by Eoin Campbell)
https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/placement/33319_en

Feeding Ourselves continues tomorrow with Module 3 on the topic of Sociocracy/Dynamic Governance - Decision Making.

We'll be joined again by Sociocracy For All to take us through this exciting and relevant topic for all our organisations. Making decisions alone is already hard, but as a group it gets even harder!
How can we make decisions that work for everyone without spending a huge amount of time?

More info on this capacity building series at https://www.solidnetwork.ie/post/upskilling-local-food-initiatives

Module 2 of Feeding Ourselves is this Wednesday afternoon 3-5pm kicking off the series on Dynamic Governance or Sociocracy.
This will look at how we run our organisations, how we make effective decisions and ensure all voices are heard.

More details and registration info at https://www.solidnetwork.ie/post/upskilling-local-food-initiatives

Cloughjordan Community Farm

How this returning emigrant transformed his family farm by selling beef boxes direct to the consumer Rory O’Reilly always liked the idea of “cutting out the middle man” and in 2015 he started fattening a couple of his heifers on his Loughrea, Co Galway farm for his own beef.

We are looking for new producers from Monaghan.

Do you make or grow products or know someone who does, then get in touch, please send a pm, we will consider anything from pestos to flowers. Once you follow our ethos of real food and products locally produced.
We would love to hear from you.

If you're active in the regenerative, co-operative and community-led food sector in Ireland please consider joining us for this specially designed series of capacity building modules starting next Wednesday 25th January at 3-5pm. All online and free of charge, network members will be prioritised but all are welcome.

More info here
https://lnkd.in/d3N_j8uu

Register at [email protected] or by completing this form https://lnkd.in/d9f9_GEY

PLEASE SHARE!!
Moyleabbey Organic Farm, a 13.5-acre market garden in South Kildare, is looking to appoint an Assistant Market Garden Grower (37.5 hrs per week – Tuesday to Saturday). 🌱🌱🌱
The role will involve sharing responsibility for the management and day to day running of all aspects of organic vegetable and fruit production: in the field, propagation areas, polytunnels, and pack shed. It will also involve direct selling of produce at our home farm shop and at Carlow Farmers Market.
For full details about this exciting opportunity, including job description, person specification, and how to apply, please visit:
https://www.moyleabbey.ie/vacancies/
Final deadline for applications is 31st Jan 2023.

Carlow Farmers Market Organic Growers of Ireland (OGI) Agriland.ie Irish Organic Association Organic Trust Farming for Nature Irish Seed Savers Association The Organic Centre An TIonad Glas National Organic Training Skillnet Horticulture Jobs World Fruit Hill Farm Permaculture Ireland County Kildare Leader Partnership CLG.,

There we are in today's The Irish Times Magazine! Delighted to be featured among a host of great people and projects.
Check out our website www.openfoodnetwork.ie to read more about what we do and how you can get involved.