It was during a farm discussion group tour around 15 years ago, when a Kerry farmer was inspired to develop a food hub to create jobs in his local village.
The Kerry Food Hub, a not-for-profit community project located in Firies, provides purpose-built food production units for entrepreneurs and small food businesses seeking to expand.
The facility is managed strategically by a board of social entrepreneurs and has an overall aim is to make the local community a “better place to live”.
Farmer
Local dairy farmer David Gleeson joined one of the country’s first discussion groups in the country when it was established by Kerry Group some three decades ago.
While visiting the Netherlands in 2008, the group saw how the local farmers were producing cheese, ice-cream and yogurt and growing their food businesses.
“When I came home, I saw that our village needed employment as it was growing very rapidly,” Gleeson told Agriland.
Similar to other locations, the population of Firies, which is located halfway between Tralee and Killarney, swelled rapidly during the Celtic Tiger years, growing from a round a dozen houses to 600.
Gleeson, who has been involved in community work all his life, shared his idea to develop a food hub with other locals who committed to making the dream into a reality.
Kerry County Council’s Economic Development Unit also supported the initiative.
Enterprise Ireland pledged to supply €240,000 in funding to the project, however, getting a site for the new facility took several years.
In 2012, a field on the outskirts of Firies was offered for sale by the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), which Gleeson duly bought.
“So we looked for planning and the rest is history,” the farmer said.
Food hub
When it finally opened its doors in 2016, the Kerry Food Hub had four food grade production units.
In 2022, the facility was expanded with ten new units, while a multi-vendor online marketplace linking artisan food producers and professional buyers was also launched.
Gleeson said that before a business moves from their kitchen at home to the food hub it needs to have “a little bit of a market built up”.
The hub would then help to increase that market and grow the business.
Ten of the units at the Kerry Food Hub are currently occupied, employing over 75 workers.
A range of produce is manufactured in the units such as cheesecakes, salads, protein bars and jams.
“There is job satisfaction to see the way it has turned out and to see the employment. When you go in there and see the workers in full flight, it’s a good feeling,” Gleeson said.
The Kerry Food Hub was recently presented with a national award from Chambers Ireland in recognition of how the facility promotes economic development in the county.
“You’d be doing a thing and think that there is no-one looking or watching you. But to win that prize, there are people watching out there and seeing how you’re achieving your goal,” Gleeson said.