Not so ‘glorious food’

The topic of food—from its production to distribution and consumption — is the theme of the new issue of Working Notes, the journal of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. Its editor, Siobhan McNamara, says the topic was of particular interest to her because she had just finished a year of weekly volunteer sessions at the FoodCloud warehouse in Tallaght.

She describes her work there as sorting and distributing surplus food from suppliers and supermarkets to a variety of charities and community organisations. “The experience had given me some insight into the inefficiencies of our food system,” she says, because without a facility such as FoodCloud, “truckloads of high-quality, in-date food would end up in landfill every week.”

Siobhan is also part of a volunteer-led community group in Dublin 12 called Bloomin’ Crumlin, where she engages in events and activities related to locally produced food, whether it is grown in private gardens, local allotments, their community garden, or their polytunnel.

Volunteers also help out in the Kyrie Therapeutic Farm3 in Kildare. She says she is inspired by their energy and commitment, “and their work enables us to buy delicious, seasonal, organic vegetables directly from the producer. These products would cost far more in any local supermarket, if they were available in the first place.”

The articles in this edition of Working Notes, which she has edited, examine food from a variety of viewpoints, including dietary choices from a theological perspective; to eat or not to eat meat? –theological and ethical considerations; the politics of food in our prisons; food waste and its environmental and social impact; a discussion of agroecology and community gardening, and a review of international and Irish research on food provision for people experiencing homelessness.

For a fuller summary of the articles, or to access Working Notes, click here »