by Limerick Urban Co-operative – Anne (centre) and staff and members of the Urban Co-operative pictured above. Picture: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick
Limerick Urban Co-operative is a social enterprise with a focus on nutrition and healthy sustainable living
Its mission is to be a model cooperative, providing excellent products and enhancing the lives of its members, customers and the community.
Anne Maher, Managing Director, The Urban Co-Op & Wellness Hub, said, “As we have been moving towards organic and good quality foods since our inception 10 years ago, it has naturally attracted the health conscious, and from there he grew in his life. promote community wellness as well as a community grocer.”
At the heart of the movement is a commitment to support organic products, free from synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), while maintaining a high standard of animal welfare and promoting biodiversity.
Anne added, “We want our community to thrive. Organic food is very good quality food produced to the highest standards. And it’s very nutrient dense, so you get value for your money.”
The feeling in the group is that organic food should not be something out of the ordinary diet, it should not be seen as a luxury but should be an investment in the health and well-being of consumers and Anne said, “ Your health is your wealth”.
Geraldine Fitzpatrick, Operations and Wellness Hub Manager said people should buy organic because of “the taste”.
Giving an example, Geraldine talked about a conversation with her mother, saying, “I’d get the organic chicken and I’d make a roast chicken. And she says, ‘This is like chicken in the old days, but we didn’t have organic’. And I went, ‘you did. You did, you just had to call it organic because there were no chemicals in it.’”
Anne added, “We should usually have organic food in our diet, and we want to encourage the farmers to produce organically. We want consumers to buy organically and consume organically, and for that to become the norm. We provide 7-day access to organic food and embed the organic philosophy here as part of a total wellness model and offer in-house lifestyle therapies with organic at its core.”
By selling healthy organic food and providing a space for holistic therapies, seven days a week, it creates a positive portal for the community to improve well-being. Encouraging consumers to be consciously sustainable, through nutritious food, zero-waste practices, and positive lifestyle initiatives. The focus is on collaborative relationships with consumers and suppliers, encouraging a strong culture of engagement including inclusive volunteering opportunities.
Tracy O’Donoghue, Director and Lead Therapist of The Body Tree, said, “We run a multi-disciplinary therapy clinic open to the public. With no appointments, you just walk in, so it’s open to anyone from the community who is in pain, whether it’s mental, physical or emotional. So people would come in, we’d assess them, and we’d recommend multiple treatments.”
Tracy told I Love Limerick that working with the Urban Co-op was a “perfect fit”, saying, “Not only does everyone here have the same ethos of community health and wellbeing, but it comes with what we recommend to our clients. come in here and do their shopping because we’re promoting a whole ethos of health and wellness and we’re looking at people holistically to include diet, nutrition and a social aspect that is extremely important to public health included.”
Regular customers were happy to talk about their reasons for buying organic, with one customer, Maura Hanley telling I Love Limerick, “When we’re talking about the environment, it’s just a matter of making a conscious choice to buy things that are better. for the environment. And if they’re better for the environment, I think they’re better for me. As the saying goes, food is your first medicine.”
Alan Briggs, another regular customer, said, You’re good. It works, and it gives me an opportunity to explain to the children where it came from, and what it is. This helps them, every day.”
Offering more than nutritious food and therapies, the Urban Cooperative is a blueprint for community-driven change that fosters sustainability and the group hopes it can be reshaped across Ireland, but as the world following this food revolution, Limerick can proudly represent what is in store for the community. group offering.
Speaking about the Urban Co-op being at the forefront of the organic movement in Limerick, Anne said, “We’re leading the charge and we want to encourage farmers to renew the land and feed us from within. Wouldn’t it be great if Limerick was a biomusic district for organic food? We are ready to encourage other communities to become a hub or market outlet for organic farmers and help our communities thrive again.”
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