Dublin Food Projects benefit from Safefood
Safefood today announced a significant €1.5 million investment in its Community Food Initiatives Programme 2025-28, with five key projects across Dublin set to receive funding
Print1 August 2025
Safefood today announced a significant €1.5 million investment in its Community Food Initiatives Programme 2025-28, with five key projects across Dublin set to receive funding.
This four-year initiative aims to positively influence the eating habits of people in low-income communities throughout the island of Ireland, fostering lasting change and strengthening community resilience around healthier eating.
The five Dublin-based organisations receiving funding are:
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Dublin Northwest Partnership: Serving communities in Ballymun, Finglas, and Cabra, this project will establish a food club providing access to free food in a social supermarket setting, complemented by additional wrap-around supports. It will also deliver a crucial ‘holiday-hunger’ project designed to support young people in the community.
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Airfield Estate (Dundrum): This initiative will deliver a range of activities, including food mapping, practical cookery workshops, and the creation of a healthy eating resource for adolescents, developed by adolescents themselves. The project aims to encourage participants to become “food champions” in their homes and communities through peer-led support.
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Rosemount Family Resource Centre (Dundrum): Serving communities in Dundrum and surrounding areas, this project will offer cooking workshops, meal planning, and healthy eating sessions, alongside promoting sustainable food practices and linking with the local community foodbank.
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A “Food Ambassador” programme is also planned, where successful participants can mentor and support others, alongside pop-up cooking classes and food sharing circles.
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Dublin South City Partnership: This project, serving communities across South Dublin city, will deliver cooking workshops in partnership with local community gardens.
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A unique recipe book will be created for participants, with a particular emphasis on engaging men in the community.
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South Dublin County Partnership: Focused on communities in Tallaght and Clondalkin, this project will deliver healthy eating and cooking courses with a specific emphasis on 12-17-year-olds.
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Courses will build essential skills in cooking, food safety, reducing food waste, budgeting, and meal planning.
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Welcoming the launch of Safefood’s Community Food Initiatives Programme, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD said: “Unhealthy food choices are increasingly becoming the norm, impacting the health of our population.
“I am encouraged by the focus of Safefood’s Community Food Initiatives, which are more than just a source of learning about food; they build practical skills and knowledge at the grassroots level.
“I welcome that these local projects foster connections within communities, aiming to create a future where healthy eating is realistic, achievable, and accessible to all.”
Dr Gary A. Kearney, chief executive, Safefood, continued: “We’re excited to launch our latest round of Safefood Community Food Initiatives.
“They have a proven track record of effectiveness and success, and we want to extend their impact by doubling the scale and increasing the scope of our work to include not only good nutritional and healthy eating help, but also including ‘tips and tricks’ around food safety for members of the public.
“In addition to the 28 projects, which will be funded for 4 years, announced today, we are introducing a new cross-border partnership that will fund a further 4 cross-border projects.
“We will also be funding 25 additional one-off community projects each year under the scheme.
“This year marks 15 years since we first started working among communities, and more than 65,000 people have taken part since then.
“By supporting people in low-income communities, these projects have the potential to create long-lasting changes in how people shop, plan, and cook food.
“Ultimately, this work is about improving the access to, and availability of, healthy and safe food in our communities.”
The Safefood initiative will support each group to establish, manage, and sustain a local food initiative that promotes lasting behaviour change and strengthens community resilience around healthier eating.
For more information on The Community Food Initiatives (CFI) Programme 2025–2028, visit: www.safefood.net/community-
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© 2025, ShelfLife by Peter Murphy
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