Minister Martin Heydon has confirmed funding of €25,000 for the Kildare Food Network, Flavours of Kildare. The funding is made available under the 2022 Rural Innovation and Development Fund through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
“Flavours of Kildare is a celebration of our Kildare food and drink producers whose mission is to champion local producers and their products, encourage our visitors to taste the diversity of flavours created here and leave Kildare with a great food and drink story to share.
“Manzor Marketing was appointed by Kildare LEO in early 2022 to facilitate the members of the network and support their development. The members are also engaged with Kildare LEO for financial and mentoring and training supports. The activities of the network and this €25,000 funding under the RIDF will align with the actions set out under the Kildare Food, Beverage & Hospitality Strategy which was led by Kildare County Council and developed in consultation with the key stakeholders in the sectors.
“The members of Flavours of Kildare will work closely with Kildare LEO and Kildare County Council to utilise the funding to promote the network and its members and identify opportunities to showcase their produce at events in Kildare that promote local produce.
“My Department is keen to support initiatives such as the Kildare Food Network in the agri-food tourism sector with almost €300,000 confirmed for 19 projects nationwide today. Flavours of Kildare is a great example of this type of initiative supporting businesses operating and employing in our rural communities”, concluded Minister Heydon.