Thousands to attend two-day Cork and Kerry Food Forum
This year’s Cork and Kerry Food Forum, which will take place in Cork City Hall on June 26 and 27, will feature celebrity chef Kevin Dundon who will show attendees how to prepare healthy meals using ingredients from Cork and Kerry producers.
Some 75 producers will feature in the forum, which is supported by Local Enterprise Offices in Cork and Kerry, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Kerry County Council, SuperValu and Bord Bia.
“Now more than ever people are aware of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and the necessity to fuel our bodies with wholesome, fresh food. We are lucky in Ireland to have an abundance of incredible food producers, and none more so than in Cork and Kerry,” said Joe Burke of the South Cork Local Enterprise Office.
Mr Burke said some 5,000 people came to last year’s forum, an attendance they hope to double this year.
Meanwhile, 13 all-island projects have received three-year funding from Safefood for the 2016-18 Community Food Initiatives Programme launched last week.
The projects are funded by Safefood to promote greater access to healthy food in low-income areas.
“The work of Community Food Initiatives demonstrate how investing in communities can help with influencing healthier food choices and learning lifelong skills; this community-led approach has the potential to positively impact on health from childhood right through to adult life,” said Safefood chief executive Ray Dolan.
One such project by the Avondhu Blackwater Partnership from Castletownroche, Co Cork, “aims to work with disadvantaged families and young people to encourage and support them to make informed decisions regarding their diet and that of their families”.
