Food Empathy – growing your own food for a healthy, sustainable future

Join Michael Kelly, founder of GIY (Grow It Yourself), for an inspiring workshop at the beautiful Kilgraney Herb Gardens. In this session, Michael explores the powerful concept of food empathy – the deep connection we form with our food when we grow it ourselves. 

As global food systems become increasingly complex and our relationship with nature grows more distant, Michael makes the case for the simple yet transformative act of growing your own food. Michael explains that growing even a small amount of your own food can transform your understanding of health, sustainability and community. Drawing on his own journey and the success of GIY, he explains how growing your own food can lead to more mindful eating, reduced food waste and a greater appreciation for seasonal, local produce. 

Set in the tranquil surroundings of Kilgraney Herb Gardens, which features a rich variety of culinary and medicinal plants, this talk offers practical advice and is ideal for gardeners, food lovers and anyone interested in living more sustainably. 

Michael Kelly is the founder and CEO of GIY, a social enterprise that is creating a global movement of food growers to transform the food system from the ground up. With over 14 years of experience as a social entrepreneur leading and growing GIY, Michael is an Ashoka Fellow, Ireland Funds awardee, TV presenter, public speaker, and author. He is passionate about the power of food growing experiences to give people an understanding of food and the food system (‘food empathy’) that leads to transformational outcomes and pro-environmental behaviours and mindset change.

GIY aims to support 100 million people to grow some of their own food in homes, schools and communities by 2030, and currently reaches over 1 million people each year through campaigns and programmes in Ireland, the UK and US. Michael produces and presents Grow, Cook, Eat, a primetime TV series that has had over 12 million views on RTE and Amazon Prime, and a new food sustainability series on RTE called Food Matters. He has also written 5 books about food and food growing. GIY works with some of the world’s leading brands, governments and foundations, making it easy for organisations to mobilise communities to create impactful wellbeing, climate and biodiversity outcomes. GIY also developed a home for the GIY movement, an urban farm and model of a sustainable food system called GROW HQ in Waterford, Ireland, which won national Cafe of the Year 2020 and is one of the Sunday Times’ Top 100 Restaurants in Ireland in 2020.