The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Neighbourhood food
PAUL Hodder and Tríona Duignan are connecting small food producers with their customers through a combination of the NeighbourFood website and their Pantrí café on Main Street, Dingle.
The Pantrí, a very popular cafe with locals and visitors alike, is not large enough to allow social distancing so the couple are don’t plan to re-open on June 29 when restrictions on cafes and restaurants are lifted. However, Tríona and Paul still feel a responsibility for their suppliers and they want to help them through a difficult time.
“With restaurants closed small producers have lost a lot of their market,” said Tríona. “They have the produce but no way to get it out so we set up the Neighbourfood initiative here to connect small producers with their customers.”
The Neighbourfood initiative, which was started by Corkman Jack Crotty, provides a market for small producers nationally. It is subdivided into local markets and Paul and Tríona have joined up the Dingle area.
The NeighbourFood site allows local food producers to list whatever they have for sale, customers can log on and place an order and the goods are then delivered to the Pantrí where they can be picked up at designated times between 4pm and 6pm on Thursdays.
The produce ranges from beer and coffee to smoked meats, organic greens, bread, cakes and goats cheese. They also have a selection of natural wines and organic seeds. “The beauty of it is that no producer is too small, and producers can join up anytime,” said Tríona
“There are advantages for the producer and the buyer with this kind of market,” explained Tríona. “Customers can be assured that their favourite produce will be available when they order it; and producers only have to supply what is ordered, which avoids waste”.
To buy or sell local artisan produce through the NeighbourFood network in West Kerry look up the neighbourfood.ie website and then search for the ‘Dingle market’.