Northern Ireland's Bridging The Gap Pilot Workshop

In early September, Nourish NI hosted a group of enthusiastic growers, producers, buyers, and social supermarket clients at Northern Ireland's "Bridging the Gap - Next Steps” workshop. The aim of the workshop was to identify initiatives that could make sustainable, locally grown fresh produce affordable to people on low incomes in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland's distinct geographical landscape and closely-knit network of organisations working on sustainable food provided ideal foundations for the roundtable discussions. The workshop uncovered a treasure trove of ideas and potential pilot projects tailored to the unique needs of Northern Ireland. 

Participants were invited to come up with big ideas to bridge the gap based on their extensive experience in their area of the food system in Northern Ireland. This allowed participants to share examples from successful programmes as well as challenges they have encountered and incorporate these insights into concepts for pilots. 

The ideas that they came up with included a sustainable growing collective, food hubs, working closely with schools to change the food culture, and a food membership model to name a few. Through the course of the day these ideas where refined and the most promising of them selected by those in the room. 

One participant, Biruk, a local organic producer, summed it up nicely: 

"Today, for me, it is very exciting and energetic, and some parts of it are overwhelming because it just makes you realise how big the issue is… also, it’s good to see people gathered here with the same ethos and ideas, trying to push something positive towards our community. It’s really exciting!"

Beth Bell, co-founder of Carrick Greengrocers and Food Citizenship Lead at Food Ethics Council, commented in her article on ‘food citizenship in action’ that she was inspired  to see collaboration from growers, farmers and organisations working across the food system in Northern Ireland at this Bridging the Gap workshop.

Excitement is growing for the next stage, scheduled for mid-October. This gathering will build on the momentum generated by the September event and continue to develop the ideas that emerged, turning them into working pilots.