ONE of Cork’s most popular open farms has been selected as one of more than 50 food suppliers to win a contract to supply Aldi in the coming weeks.

Teresa Leahy of Leahy’s Open Farm in Dungourney said that the farm’s ice cream will be on the shelves of Aldi stores from June 6 as part of the Grow with Aldi supplier development programme.

The product will feature in Aldi’s special buys through the programme.

Teresa said the ice cream will be on sale in 28 Aldi stores around the country.

She said: “We had to hire a 20ft container freezer and there are more than 4,000 tubs of ice cream in it.” She said the product will be in Aldi stores for a two week period from June 6.

She said one full time worker and two part time workers have been taken on at the farm to help in the production of the ice cream, which is made from milk supplied by two local dairy farms.

The farm itself reopened to the public on April 26 after being closed under Covid-19 restrictions.

Plans are currently with Cork County Council for an extension of the open farm.

The application seeks permission to develop eight accommodation pods for short term letting, as well as an extension to the ice cream and chocolate factory at the farm.

A decision is expected shortly on whether permission will be granted. If it is, work will begin on the extension project this summer.

The 18 acre farm is home to an array of farm animals, including hens, ducks, goats, and sheep. Exotic animals living on the farm include a snake, a camel, an emu, alpaca and Fallabella horses.

The farm was opened to the public in 1996 and has grown since then.