CORK AND KERRY FOOD FORUM WELCOMED OVER 5000 PEOPLE ON SUNDAY JUNE 28th  

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine Simon Coveney, T.D. announced 65 new jobs at the Cork and Kerry Food Forum which took place at Cork City Hall over the weekend. The 65 jobs are being created in food business start ups as a result of the Food Academy, a collaboration between Bord Bia, SuperValu, Local Enterprise Offices of Cork & Kerry, Cork & Kerry County Council and Cork City County. The Cork and Kerry food producers who participated in Food Academy will generate sales worth €1.2 million in 2015.

Speaking at the Cork Kerry Forum today Minister Coveney said “ Confidence and self- belief as innovators in the food and drinks sector are critical success factors for  start-up enterprises.  Food Academy - a unique collaboration between Bord Bia, SuperValu and the Local Enterprise Offices - is helping start-ups to bring their innovative ideas to market stage.  The net effect will be the creation of 65 jobs in 2015.  A collaborative approach is the key to building success.”

The announcement was made at the trade conference on Monday which was attended by over 400 food industry representatives and buyers. The public event on Sunday welcomed over 5,000 people.

Also speaking at the event, Martin Kelleher, SuperValu Managing Director, added: “At SuperValu, we are delighted to announce, that through our partnership with Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Offices, more than 30 small food businesses from Cork and Kerry who are part of the Food Academy will generate sales worth €1.2 million this year, leading to the creation of 65 jobs.”

“This is a real endorsement to the Food Academy initiative which allows us to bring community based food start-ups to the retail market and provides them with the potential to grow their businesses even further, providing employment for themselves, members of their community and for some – family members. It is great to nurture the energy and passion of these entrepreneurial producers and harness this into producing a range of products that we are proud to stock on our shelves. By matching SuperValu stores with start-up food business in their area, the Food Academy programme is providing a real boost for local economies throughout Ireland.”

As SuperValu stores are independently owned and operated, SuperValu retailers are able to source directly from local suppliers on a one-to-one basis, enabling these start-up food businesses to gain their first retail listings in stores in their community.  SuperValu is also working with these producers to get their products listed in a cluster of nearby stores in order to set them on a long term path of sustainable growth.

Assistant Head of Enterprise of Cork LEO, Joe Burke said: “This is the sixth year of Cork Kerry Food Forum which is primarily a food producers network that gives an opportunity to meet trade buyers both locally and nationally and in more recent years a public market. The event has a huge local following with over five thousand in attendance yesterday at the public market.

The theme for this year event was Food Innovation which a vital ingredient for the sustainability of any food business. Creating the environment of bringing customers and producers together face to face gives life to food innovation to build sustainable food businesses and create more jobs in our communities.”

• Jimmy Allen’s food business, DeRoiste, which produces black and white puddings in the heart of the gaeltacht Ballyvourney has taken on five new staff members. 
• Maurice Gilbert and Donogh Raftery from Ballyhoura Apple Farm in Mallow have also taken on two new staff members already. 
• Walter Ryan from Loughbeg Farm in Schull will hire seven new staff members this year alone as a result of the Food Academy programme. 

SuperValu serves over 2.6 million customers every week and 75% of everything on SuperValu’s shelves is sourced or produced in Ireland.  SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible and purchases almost €2 billion worth of goods from Irish suppliers which helps to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy. 

The Cork Kerry Food Forum is kindly supported by The Irish Examiner & 96FM.

***For more information on the Food Academy Programme or the Cork and Kerry Food Forum please contact Local Enterprise Office Cork North and West on 023 8834700 (West) or 02243235 (North), and follow us Facebook and Twitter.