Oliver Moore: Organic awards applauds top performers
Last week the National Organic Awards and the Irish Food Writers’ Guilds Community Food Awards were announced.
I was a judge at both. And they were — for differing reasons — heartening and informative experiences.
The Food Guild’s Community Food Awards — in 2015, the Social Responsibility Awards — spotlighted food organisations and initiatives engaging constructively with people in their locale.
Defining the parameters of community responsibility is tough. Where does, for example, environment fit in? In the end the judging team focused on more direct, people-orientated actions.
Still, organic bodies performed really well. In fact, three of the top five awards went to expressly organic institutions and initiatives.
OURganic — a community garden training network in Donegal — was commended while highly commended went to the Organic Centre in Leitrim.
Likewise for community food overall winners — the Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) in Scariff, Co Clare.
Not only has a huge portion of Irish farm plant heritage been saved and reinvigorated by this incredible organisation, it is engaging the next generation too.
For the latter primarily, the ISSA received their award — over 1,300 young learners have been through their gates in new schools-orientated programmes. Crucially, they also train teachers.
Among the commended was Cork Food Policy Council’s edible greening initiative, which shows people how to grow food in up-cycled containers, while highlighting the health, environmental and aesthetic benefits of growing food.
The edible greening initiative has certainly made under used parts of Cork City more beautiful and socially useful.
Commended also were Loaf Catering from Belfast. Loaf works with people with learning difficulties or autism, while recirculating profits into helping those with difficulties to join the workforce.
Loaf is a great model of a real, measurable social enterprise — every £1 spent translates into £8 in social value.
Importantly, otherwise marginalised people get real work opportunities via experience and training. It’s the kind of thing very common in Europe but less popular here. Hopefully that will change soon.
National Organic Awards 2016 saw The Organic Centre in Rossinver again scoop up a prize, this time for best fresh product for its salad bag.
Top award winners
In total, there were six top awards, the other five are:
* Best Prepared Product — Blake’s Always Organic Culture Blend Coffee
* Best New Product — Ummera Smoked Products Ltd Smoked Organic Picanha Beef
* Innovation Award — Mulberry Meadow Organic Farm, My Organics Living Salad/ Salad Bowl Mix
* Direct Selling Award — Green Earth Organics 100% Irish Veg Box
* Chefs’ Choice Award — Highbank Orchards Highbank Apple Syrup
From a farming perspective, Picanha beef is of interest as it’s extremely popular in Argentina and Brazil, where meat consumption is very high. And yet it is a waste part of the animal in Europe and the US.
Picanha, also called sirloin cap, rump cover, rump cap or Coulotte, may start to feature more here and in Europe if Ummera’s supplier, the ever ingenious John Purcell of the Good Herdsman, has anything to do with it.
Mulberry Meadow’s Living Salad box was probably the standout product, in terms of its wow factor. UK buyers and others say it’s innovative even by global standards.
A big, fun overflowing box of growing green leaves — it’s so good, it has the potential to make young ones play with their salad — and maybe even eat it.
A good week for interesting, socially aware food and farming, and a great week for organics. As Literature Nobel prize winner Bob Dylan put it — the times they are a-changin’.
