Galway’s Michelin-starred chef this week dropped in on a community garden project in the city to give his backing to an initiative that will help put vegetables onto the plates of children – in one of the world’s poorest countries.
JP McMahon came to see the community garden Westside Resource Centre in Galway city this week, backing the notion of areas growing more of their own food.
But he was also seeking support for a similar scheme in the poverty-stricken Central African country of Burundi, where the aid agency Concern Worldwide is helping to tackle child malnutrition.
And he used the Westside community garden – part of the Let’s Get Galway Growing initiative – to put the spotlight on the Kitchen Gardens concept, which the charity is spearheading in a new crowdfunding campaign.
The 38-year-old married father of two explained that the gardens encourage communities to grow their own vegetables in a country where poor nutrition has stunted the growth of 58 per cent (881,000) of children aged under five.
As Europe suffers from its own vegetable shortage due to weather conditions in the Mediterranean, the chef and owner of Michelin star restaurant Aniar – as well as tapas bar Cava Bodega and Eat Gastropub – has urged people to think of those in greater need in Burundi where 9.2 million people (83 per cent of the population), live in poverty.
The Failte Ireland ambassador for Irish food also believes the Kitchen Gardens project should inspire everyone to grow their own nutritious and healthy food.
Speaking from the Westside community gardens, accompanied by his daughters Heather (8) and Martha (4), he said: “Europe has taken so much out of Africa; it is our duty as Europeans and Irish people to give back.
“I think Kitchen Gardens is a genuine and excellent idea because it taps into that connection to growing food that a lot of us never have to think about at all.
“It supports people in great need in growing their own farms for the future, making them more self-sufficient and strengthening their community.
“This project gives us a sense of fulfilment that we are actually helping people to produce their own food because aid can only do so much.
“It should also inspire us in Ireland and wherever we are in the world to grow our own food.
“Every home should have, at the very least, a herb garden, even if all you have is an apartment with a window sill or balcony”.
JP, who also runs the Aniar cookery school, is urging people to support Kitchen Gardens on the crowdfunding website Generosity.com where the target is €20,000 to benefit 200 families or over 1,000 individuals.
The food writer, who also runs the annual Food on the Edge global chef symposium, has donated signed recipes that will be sent to anyone who donates €65 to the campaign.
The gardens themselves are designed to trap moisture and enable vegetables – such as carrots, cabbage and onions – to grow all year round, even in very dry conditions.
They are circular and raised about one metre above ground with an inner circular basket at its centre where compostable waste, such as uncooked vegetables, are added to provide nutrients to the plants.
Concern, which works with the Burundi government, provides the items needed to assemble the gardens – which takes about two days to build – and provides training to members of the community, who share their new skills and knowledge with others.
To mark the launch of Kitchen Gardens, Concern Worldwide street fundraisers will be handing out free packets of carrot seeds to members of the public in Ireland this week.
People can find more information and donate to the campaign by clicking on this link where people can also monitor how much has been donated and share and discuss the project on social media.
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