Location: Limerick
Between the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, the St. Munchin’s Community Garden project and Southill Community Garden Committee were formed, with the aim of identifying the need to nurture relations between the youth in the area and older people through positive interaction in gardening. The Limerick Seed to Plate project will employ two gardeners, one in each community, to develop the gardens further. The gardeners will work closely with the Vocational Education Committee (VEC) tutors and project workers to provide outreach to develop the skills in organic home-gardening practices with the participants in the programme and within the wider community. Southill has a newly opened community café and the food grown in their garden will be showcased and cooked in the centre and café. The project also addresses an identified need in the community in promoting healthy eating.
Both communities have already initiated projects relating to healthy eating and gardening, including: Meals on Wheels, healthy eating in crèches, 'Through the Years’ project, gardening classes, ‘Cook It’ classes and a community café. Building on the success of the ‘Through the Years’ project, it became apparent that gardening knew no age-barriers and could be implemented on a large scale reaching the wider community, groups and classes.
There is a strong educational emphasis to the project and it is intended that the learning at the community gardens will strengthen the existing healthy eating habits and be transferred to participants' own homes and lifestyles. The project will also result in increased long-term health benefits arising from a healthier lifestyle. Key people being targeted are older people, local families and residents, Limerick Youth Service, After School Clubs, the Garda Youth Diversion Project and the Family Resource Centre.
Objectives of the project include:
• To improve access and availability of fruit and vegetables in the community
• To improve relations in the community, especially between older people and the youth
• To increase community knowledge of organic home-gardening practices
• To provide participants with a better understanding of healthy eating/nutrition
• To improve the local environment and garden areas
• To enhance the quality of cooking skills in the community as a whole
• To encourage participation of those in the community who may otherwise be isolated
A Health Service Executive (HSE) Health Impact Analysis of the vision document on Limerick Regeneration areas identified that certain areas of high density urban communities would benefit from community gardens and growing spaces.
Communities will benefit from the project which will create employment, build bridges between communities, increase pride in their community and promote social inclusion and provide a focus for the local areas. It will serve as a setting for community education and will be inclusive in helping reduce isolation by providing meeting places for all members of their target communities, for example the young, old, and those with disabilities. The project will also result in increased long-term health benefits arising from a healthier lifestyle.
About the partners
This is a joint project between the Limerick food partnership (lead) hosted by PAUL Partnership, the St. Munchins Family Resource Centre and Southhill Area Centre
Find out more about the funded community food initiatives
East Belfast Healthy Eating Education Programme (Belfast) | Food Focus Community Food Initiative (Cork) | Food for Life (Derry) | Footprints Women’s Centre Building a Transition Community (Belfast) | KASI Community Garden (Killarney) | The Food Garden Project (Dundalk)