The Healthy Food Made Easy project had been running in Dublin 15 since 2008, managed by Blanchardstown Area partnership. The aim of the project was to address food poverty by making healthy food available, accessible and affordable. Research shows socially disadvantaged households consume less nutritionally balanced diets and suffer from higher rates of diet-related chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity and certain cancers at a younger age.
To address these issues in Corduff it was agreed to set up a community garden in the grounds of the Resource Centre and a school garden in St. Patricks National School. A group of local people was formed that got to work on a; plan for hte garden. Collaboration with Business in the Community led to a great team of volunteers joining with the local group to clear the area and begin to build the structure of the garden. Raised beds were built to make it accessible so everyone could get involved in the garden.
Over the year a wide range of food was planted, harvested and enjoyed. The local youth group and scouts got involved also and loved getting their hands dirty. A garden committee has been established to ensure the ongoing community involvement with the garden. The school garden next door has been a great success with all classes getting involved and learning how to grow and cook their own food.When the garden group meet, as wealth of knowledge is shared between participants from where to get the best value in fresh fruit and veg to how to cook the best Sunday roast, the garden really is a place for all of us to grow.
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