Trader at Cork's English Market is set to feature on TV series

ENGLISH Market trader Virginia O’Gara is already doing her bit to save the planet, as the devoted vegan runs the My Goodness food stall there.

The Texan-born foodie is also trying to reduce food waste at the popular Cork city venue, as she tells Michael Kelly in the final episode of Food Matters on RTÉ1 on Wednesday May 10 at 8.30pm.

Virginia, who established the raw vegan food company My Goodness almost a decade ago, explains to Michael how she is trying to change policy in the English Market when it comes to food waste.

Also in the episode, Michael looks into the work of the Cork Urban Soil Project and its bio-di gester, which composts urban food scraps and use the resulting soil enhancer to grow more food, right in the middle of the city.

Scientist Odile Le Bolloch, of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Wexford, reveals the shocking statistics regarding the current level of food waste in Ireland, including the fact that in 2020, households were the biggest producers of food waste, accounting for 31% of the total.

Heading to Dublin, Michael Kelly meets journalist Conor Pope to gauge the public perception of food waste.

In search of some projects that are trying to make a difference when it comes to waste, he meets Bernie Brannick from Falling Fruit in Aventine Wellness Garden in Foxrock, which donates excess apples to Falling Fruit, then distributes them to charities.

Michael then looks at how technology can play its part in food waste by interviewing London- based Too Good To Go (Technology App) CEO Jamie Crummie, and MD for UK and Ireland Sophie Trueman.

Plus, we hear from chef Conor Spacey of FoodSpace, who runs numerous zero-waste kitchens.