'No chicken nuggets': Cork community group serves 850,000 nutritious meals a year

Once serving just eight meals in Boherbue, Duhallow’s community kitchen now delivers 850,000 meals a year across Cork

Patrons in the cafe during lunchtime at IRD Duhallow Community Food Services at James O'Keeffe Institute, Newmarket, Co Cork. Picture; Larry Cummins

It began in the mid-1990s, tucked away in the small village of Boherbue, supplying meals on wheels to eight elderly and isolated people scattered across the Northwest Cork region.

Now, three decades later, that figure has grown to an astonishing 850,000 meals per year — with IRD Duhallow’s Community Food Services feeding everyone from hungry schoolkids to elderly residents, plus a housing a thriving bakery and ‘community restaurant’.