Green shoots.We could all do with some of that right now.
Earlier this year,
safefood launched a funded demonstration programme of Community Food Initiatives (CFI) across the island of Ireland. You can hear about them on the
radio interview.
These 7
community initiatives that we're funding for the next 3 years are "hands on" schemes in the true meaning of the word. At community level, people can learn about food; learn new skills, find out about healthy eating on a budget and learn about growing food. These projects will help those communities on low incomes gain access to healthier food.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm fortunate enough to have a garden at home and a
very patient wife who does most of the spade work. I'll be honest; I'm a novice when it comes to gardening and am the gardening equivalent of a learner driver. My talents are limited to lifting the heavy stuff and keeping the grass short so I can play football on it. Or practise chipping golf balls (not very well). But you could say our community food work planted a seed in my head. And so did my other half. So one chilly weekend this year, we got digging and removed the old rockery from our garden. Lots of rocks. It might look weedy on top but underneath that greenery was a rock-fest.
And the obligatory "after" photo, a few hours (and cups of tea) later
And as you can see from the "Class of 2010" photo at the top of this page, it's amazing what a couple of packets of seeds can produce and it's still not too late in the season to start. We've enjoyed things like rocket, sweet pea and herbs already this year and the tomatoes look great.