Episode Two
FoodCloud
Food Waste is a global problem, with between 30-50% of all food produced going to waste. FoodCloud is working towards a world where no good food goes to waste. At the FoodCloud Hub in Tallaght — one of 3 across Ireland — we meet Tony, one of the delivery drivers. Tony is loading his van for ‘ A Rescue Run’ with a combination of food from the hub and small daily donations from supermarkets that he’ll collect on his way. The food then will be delivered to charities around Dublin, who will put them to good use.
Tony loves his role. Currently on a 12-month Tús community work placement that sees him getting an extra €22.50 a week, Tony says that even if the year was up and he didn’t get a job out of it, he’d still volunteer to drive for FoodCloud.
First stop, Cheeverstown. Cheeverstown provides residential and day services to people with intellectual disabilities. Their busy restaurant caters to their on-site residents, as well as service-users who live in the wider community. In the kitchen, we meet head chef Janice, who tells us that having access to FoodCloud has delivered big changes in Cheeverstown. The savings made as a result of up to 60% of their food now coming from FoodCloud has even freed up sufficient budget to hire extra staff. But it has also meant a culture change in the kitchen… ’Before FoodCloud, we were very institutionalised, we knew what we were going to be making for dinner 5 weeks in advance’.
Kilcock Men’s Shed
In Kilcock, the Men’s Shed has become a focal point of the local community. Alongside their woodwork and gardening, the men even have a choir that has performed around Ireland. In the shed, we meet musical sisters Claire and Eimear Crehan, whose connection to the shed came through their late father. He was a founding member but sadly passed away at the shed during its construction. Claire and Eimear turned their strong relationship with the remaining members into a tribute to their late father by encouraging the men to sing. They’ve since developed the choir to the point where they released a single, ‘The Sands of Time’, which went to Number 1 in the Irish Easy Listening Charts — and has become something of an anthem for other 450 Men’s Sheds around the country.
We also hear from a member who credits the shed with having a very positive impact on his mental wellbeing. He recounts how one of his son’s recently commented, ‘Dad, I haven’t seen you as happy in years’.
The Shona Project
Tammy Darcy from The Shona Project has made it her mission to support and empower teenage girls across Ireland. And there are plenty of them — nearly a quarter of a million aged between 11-18! Ask any teenage girl and the majority will tell you that they have faced challenges that have been difficult to navigate. The Shona Project sets out to nurture self-esteem by educating, empowering, and inspiring girls to embrace their abilities.
In this episode, Tammy meets with Shona ambassador Izzy. Izzy writes articles for The Shona Project website and advises on events. Tammy is keen to hear what they can learn from last year’s Shona conference as they plan this year’s event — which will bring together 800 teenage girls in WIT Arena in Waterford. The ambassadors’ input is key to keeping the work in the world of its target audience. Izzy joined the project last year after attending the first Shona conference and says that her involvement with The Shona Project has changed her life forever.
Prepare Me
In Athenry, Prepare Me Founder Caitriona Watters Crehan is now a fully-fledged social entrepreneur, having turned her initial idea into a project that is poised to scale. With extensive experience in the disability sector and personal experience of this issue, Caitriona’s big idea is to help people to ‘visit and experience’ a place before actually going there, through visual storyboards, resource packs and video modelling. Prepare Me’s doctor’s visit pack, designed to prepare people for a visit to their GP, are already impacting families around Ireland. In Dublin, Mum Mairead is using one of the packs for the first time with her daughter Karima and can already see a positive impact. Closer to home, Caitriona’s daughter Casey Jane is another source of inspiration. Prepare Me aims to meet people with additional needs where they are at, so they feel as welcome as the next person as they navigate everyday experiences such as a doctor’s visit, getting a haircut or going to the dentist.
Changing Ireland: My Big Idea is produced for RTÉ One, in association with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and with the support of Permanent TSB, The One Foundation and DCC plc.