Almost 8,000 fish meals distributed by the social enterprise FoodCloud to community groups and charities have come from classes with trainee fishmongers, new figures confirm.
Over three tonnes of fresh salmon, cod, place and monkfish have been donated over the past seven years via FoodCloud in partnership with Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the State’s seafood development agency.
The fresh fish is collected at BIM’s fish filleting courses in the north Dublin fishing harbour of Howth and in Clonakilty, Co Cork. The accredited courses are run for fishmongers and those who wish to improve their fish handling skills.
More than 190 kilos of fish were transferred to charities such as Depaul, working with the homeless, this year alone (2023), and BIM calculates that the 3.2 tonnes of fish in total over seven years amounts to 7,719 meals in total.
It also estimates that the fish fillets which might otherwise have been disposed of after the classes contributed to a total of 10.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions saved.
DePaul chief executive David Carroll explained that “every Friday, our chef in Sundial House in Dublin serves a hearty fish meal”.
This “not only provides much needed nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D”, but also “puts a smile on faces”, he said.
“Thanks to food donations we get, including from BIM, we can help to close the gap on food inequality for people in homelessness,”he said, noting that fresh fish is a relatively expensive food which might otherwise be out of reach of its budgets.
FoodCloud, which was established in 2013 by Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien to ensure that no good food is wasted, was awarded Irish Charity of the Year in 2022.
It connects businesses and organisations with extra food to community and voluntary groups and charities, and is currently redistributing around 1.25 million meals per week.
Since it was set up, FoodCloud says it has redistributed the equivalent of 250 million meals, amounting to over 105,000 tonnes of good surplus food to over 7,000 charities in Ireland and internationally.
It has two methods – through a technology platform, Foodiverse, and through FoodCloud hubs in Dublin, Cork and Galway, which collect and redistribute larger volumes.
The organisation’s co-founder and interim chief executive Aoibheann O’Brien has thanked BIM for its partnership and contribution to “create a world that is kinder to its people and our planet through the redistribution of surplus food.”
BIM skills development services manager Ian Mannix said the organisation is “committed to doing everything possible to build a more sustainable future, and our partnership with FoodCloud has helped us play our part”.
The surplus fish arises from a number of two-day introduction to fish handling and filleting training courses, and the QQI accredited certificate in fishmonger training programme, run in the BIM Seafood Innovation Hub in Clonakilty and at its fish filleting facility in Howth several times a year.
