1. GIY Homepage
2. GROW COOK EAT Homepage
3. GROW COOK EAT
4. About GIY

About GIY

GIY (Grow It Yourself) was founded in 2008 by Michael Kelly. After a move to rural Waterford from Dublin and a change of career, Michael had decided he wanted to learn to grow his own food. (Inspired by a nasty encounter with a bulb of Chinese garlic in a supermarket) Without much of a clue what he was doing, he still managed to somehow successfully create a beautiful bulb of homegrown garlic. Emboldened by this success he established a group of people to support each others food growing efforts in Waterford. And thus GIY was born. 

Within a short time groups were springing up around Ireland and the UK and Michael found himself managing and supporting these groups. He had a vision for an organisation that would support and empower people to grow just a little but of their own food at home, at work, at school and in their community. 

Now, ten years on, that idea has created a social enterprise that has some pretty impressive stats;

• GIY employs thirty people.
• We supported over half a million people to grow some food in 2017 alone.
• We now have 8,500 groups of people worldwide who grow food with help from us.
• In 2016 GIY opened a home for the movement, GROW HQ, a National Food Education Centre in Waterford with a growing and cooking school, cafe and food production gardens.
• In 2018 we launched our very own TV Show! GROW COOK EAT on RTE1, set in GROW HQ and presented by our founder Michael Kelly and Head of Community Development, Karen O' Donohoe

Food Empathy

Our mission is to inspire Food Empathy; a deeper understanding of food that comes from growing it. We know food empathy leads to happier, healthier, more sustainable lives. 

Pop back to the GROW COOK EAT Homepage to get all the resources and supporting content for the show.

Visit the GIY homepage to catch up on all our other news. 

Visit the GIY shop to start your growing journey with everything you need.