IRD DUHALLOW | PROGRESS REPORT
2020 - 2021
Community Food Initative The Community Food Initiatives (CFI) 2019-2021 is funded by safefood, administered at a local level by SECAD Partnership and IRD Duhallow is one of 14 initiatives receiving funding; the aim of the CFI programme is to positively influence the eating habits of families with children in low-income communities. One in ten households in Ireland are experiencing food poverty. Food poverty is multifaceted issue encompassing economic, cultural and social inequalities leading to poor nutrition. Much of the cheapest, processed food on the market is high safefood Ireland Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) healthy food in saturated fats, sugars and salt and basket costs. healthy food comes at a higher cost; therefore, it is one of the main contributing factors in people’s lack of ability to access a healthy diet. Other barriers include limited household budgets and the lack of local shops stocking a suitable range of healthy foods. Lack of information on healthy eating, low literacy levels and food skills also contribute to an insufficient and unhealthy diet. The community initiatives support the development of skills and knowledge around: Food The Creedon family participating in one of the IRD Duhallow Remote Cookery and healthy eating, healthier shopping Programmes. and cooking skills.
utilities are not. The continuous rising household costs means that more and more families are experiencing food poverty as they are forced to choose the low cost, processed and high calorie foods with little nutritional value. According to St Vincent De Paul 1 in 3 calls are now in relation to food poverty. Through our two Remote Cookery Programmes we supported and enabled families, with at least one child between the ages of 2 and 12, with healthy cooking skills using a variety of recipes from safefood 101 Square Meals and from the safefood website. IRD Duhallow shopped for and prepared the ingredients, printed recipe and delivered these to the families in the Duhallow region once a week for 4 weeks. We also provided families with a copy of safefood 101 Square Meals, portion plates, infographics, food pyramid and lunchbox leaflets. Orlaith Tomkins, Manager of Duhallow Community Food Services, prepared step by step videos for the families to follow with Tadhg Curtin, RSS Participant, recording and editing these. Weekly check-ins and phone/email/Whatsapp support was provided to families. Families cooked 3 recipes a week for the 4 weeks. IRD Duhallow engaged the services of Nutritionist Laura O Reilly to facilitate a Webinar on How Food Affects Children’s Mood. Participants learned about the relationship between food, mood and energy, the foods which negatively affect children’s mood and healthier alternatives to common treats and snacks.
According to a report published by safefood Ireland, on the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice’s ongoing Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) research, low income families need to spend about a third of their income to afford a basic healthy food basket and there are higher costs associated with rural households due to poor service provision in rural and deprived areas. The MESL Healthy Food Basket includes allocations for occasional ‘café, take-away, etc.’, and to provide for extra visitors. These Sheila Lane preparing vegetables for the allocations ensure that the social and cooking demonstrations as part of the IRD cultural aspects of food are reflected, Duhallow Remote Cookery Programme. and that households can participate in activities that are considered to be part of everyday life. The social and cultural aspects of food are important for all types of households, however, it is vital for single individual household types. IRD Duhallow helps families make healthy food choices, learn about preparing fresh food and create healthy rituals around the consumption of food ultimately bringing families together to lead happier lives. Low income families often cut back on and sacrifice food when times are tough as it is controllable whereas mortgage/rent, childcare, education and
Brighid Ide Walsh and Orlaith Tomkins discussing menus as part of the Summer Sizzler programme.
Our Community Event, which was open to all, focused on healthy lifestyle changes and healthy eating. Information was available for the public in regards to reading and understanding food labels, healthy shopping tips and healthier meals and lunchbox ideas, there were also handouts available for participants to retain for their own records. The Marie Keating foundation were also there on the day providing facts about cancer types, risk factors, signs and symptoms as well as advice on how to reduce your risk of developing different types of cancer.
Tommy Culloty and Donal O’Brien prepping the Summer Sizzler food boxes that were collected by participating families.
Ciarán Murphy preparing his Summer Sizzler meal.
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