Community Food Initiative (CFI)

Ballyhoura Development is one of 28 organisations that implement and manage the Community Food Initiatives Programme (CFI) in both the Republic and Northern Ireland.  

This Initiative, which has been running in the Ballyhoura are since 2016, aims to positively influence the eating habits of parents and children, by showcasing healthy eating initiatives, facilitating parents to learn about nutrition and healthy food preparation, and by providing small grants to support community-led training projects, which aim to  improve access to healthy, safe food using a community-development approach. The current programme is running from 2025 - 2028.

The Community Food Initiatives programme empowers people in low-income communities to make healthier food choices.

About the Community Food Initiatives 

Since its establishment on the island of Ireland in 2010, over 50,000 people have taken part in Community Food Initiative activities gaining practical tips in:

• Food and healthy eating
• Healthier shopping
• Cooking skills for healthy eating

A number of networking and information events take place each year to promote the key themes of the project:

• Supporting community awareness/knowledge around healthy eating 
• Cooking skills
• Food safety and hygiene
• Healthy shopping
• Preventing food wastage through budgeting and food/meal planning skills
• Improving the availability and access to safe & healthy food in the community