Ballyhoura Grower's Project

The Ballyhoura Growers' Project is a collaboration between FoodCloud, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, vegetable growers across the country and Ballyhoura Development.

Since October 2024, Ballyhoura Development has been implementing this project in the Ballyhoura region to support charitable organisations with their food needs. Ballyhoura Development allocates and distributes to different organisations across both East Limerick and North Cork.

The aim of the project in the Ballyhoura area is to support charitable organisations that use food to serve their clients, to reduce their food costs, as the vegetables are delivered to each organisation at no cost. It also seeks to sustainably provide locally sourced, fresh, nutritious and healthy root vegetables for use by those who are most in need of support. The project delivers to the organisations on a weekly basis, for use in their services, with the support of the Ballyhoura Development Rural Social Scheme. 

Each week, Ballyhoura Development receives a pre-agreed tonnage of vegetables from FoodCloud at a central hub. The delivery is then sorted and divided up for all participating organisations. The vegetables are packed and delivered to each organisation for same-day delivery.

Each organisation receives a specific pre-agreed quantity of vegetables, depending on their needs, to support their communities. The Ballyhoura Development Rural Social Scheme manages and coordinates delivery of produce, sorting, allocation and same-day delivery.

The project is financed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, where vegetable growers are financially supported to harvest, process, package and deliver their surplus produce to FoodCloud. The Growers' Project has been running for 2 years nationally, and in 2023, 122 tonnes of fresh vegetables was distributed.

Partner organisations then distribute these vegetables - mainly potatoes, carrots, parsnips, swedes and cabbage, to charitable organisations in their areas. The project supports a range of charitable organisations including Meals-On-Wheels services, daycare centres, sheltered housing, Family Resource Centres and other organisations that support those in most need. The vegetables are then used within the services to support the preparation of meals and also in food parcels for distribution to their clients.

If you or an organisation in your area would like to find out more, or if you feel that a service in your area would benefit from the project, please contact John Scanlan at [email protected].