Community garden wins top Chef’s Larder Award

A COMMUNITY Garden which supplies local cafés and shops with high-quality produce has been recognised with a prestigious Chef’s Larder Award at the 2023 Blas na hÉireann Awards.

Cherry Orchard Community Garden, a local climate-action social enterprise managed by Ballyfermot Chapelizod Partnership and supported by Dublin City Council, was rewarded at the awards last Friday.

The prestigious Chef’s Larder Award was given for the garden’s mixed salads which it grows and provides to local cafés and shops at the 2023 Blas na hÉireann Awards.

The garden plays an important role in Cherry Orchard by providing an amenity for residents and volunteers, and also offering training and employment opportunities.

The garden provides an avenue for people from low-income communities to participate in climate action, something that has become increasingly important.

“We are so proud that the Blas na hÉireann Awards have shone such a positive spotlight on our wonderful community and the impact we are able to generate,” said Peader Lynch, who operates the Cherry Orchard Community Garden alongside a group of trained and enthusiastic volunteers.

President Mary McAleese officially opened the Cherry Orchard Community Garden and Allotments back in 2010.

The goal of the garden was growing organic fruits and vegetables to reduce the carbon footprint of imported alternatives and provide an amenity for locals to become more self-sufficient.

In the garden, the team grow fresh seasonal produce using traditional techniques to produce salad, kale, spinach, cherry tomatoes, herbs, flowers and a lot more.

In addition to its fruit and vegetable sales, the social entreprise lease allotments to local people to grow their own and it sells composted horse manure recycled from the neighbouring Cherry Orchard Equine Centre.

When people buy the locally grown vegetables, they are supporting a social enterprise which strives to be sustainable with low energy output, low food miles and a low carbon footprint.

All of the profits gained through the garden are reinvested into the project and locality, such is the nature of a social entreprise.

What is next?

Well, the gardening crew are hoping to achieve full organic producer status through the Irish Organic Association sometime within the next year.

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