An appetite for change
New illustrations reveal Ireland’s vision for a healthier food environment.
Dublin, 4 February 2025 - A multimedia exhibition depicting the reality of Ireland’s food environment and a collective vision for its future was revealed today by Safefood. The exhibition, ‘Appetite for Change’, brings together work from conversations hosted by Safefood across communities in late 2025 and marks a pivotal moment in the ‘Talk About Food’ campaign, showcasing how local communities want to transform the food landscape that surrounds them.
The single most important thing we want people to take from these illustrations is that there is a real, collective appetite for change. Our food environment is everything around us, from the shops on our high street to the digital ads on our phones, and currently, it means making a healthy choice is often much harder to make.
- Joanne Uí Chrualaoich, CEO, Safefood
Minister of State for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor TD, launching the exhibition said : "Food-related ill-health is an escalating problem, putting our future health at real risk. With one in five children now living with overweight or obesity, we see every day how hard it is for families to make healthy choices in a food environment full of constant, aggressive marketing.
This Safefood exhibition illustrates a powerful call for change from communities across Ireland. Their ideas and experiences will help guide us to make the bold changes needed to transform our food system and give every child the chance of a healthier future."
The series of 24 illustrations, created by award-winning artist Steve Doogan, bring to life the insights of people across the island who participated in Safefood’s Citizen Engagement workshops in late 2025. These visuals highlight a landscape currently “overflowing” with cheap, heavily marketed unhealthy options and contrast it with a community-led vision for change.
"Food-related ill-health is an escalating problem, putting our future health at real risk. With one in five children now living with overweight or obesity, we see every day how hard it is for families to make healthy choices in a food environment full of constant, aggressive marketing.
- Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, Minister of State for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy
Speaking at the exhibition in Dublin, Joanne Uí Chrualaoich, newly appointed CEO at Safefood, said: "The single most important thing we want people to take from these illustrations is that there is a real, collective appetite for change. Our food environment is everything around us, from the shops on our high street to the digital ads on our phones, and currently, it means making a healthy choice is often much harder to make.
These illustrations show that people from diverse communities and backgrounds all want a system that supports their health rather than working against it, with more affordable, accessible, healthy food for everyone."
Common themes identified by participants included a yearning for “main streets of the past” with local grocers and butchers, a call for stricter regulation on marketing to children, and a desire for supermarkets to be redesigned to make healthy food more visible.
The exhibition, which took place on Wednesday 4th February at the Chartered Accountants Ireland House on Pearse Street, marked the official conclusion of a year-long engagement programme with local communities. The event was hosted by broadcaster Philip Boucher-Hayes and featured a high-level expert panel discussion on the policy and societal changes required to achieve this vision. The panel included: Anna Taylor, Executive Director, The Food Foundation in the UK; Donal O’Shea, Specialist in Obesity; Denise Cahill, Healthy Cities Coordinator, Cork City; and Kathryn Walsh, Director of Policy & Advocacy, National Youth Council.
“By working together; government, communities, partners and citizens, can create a food environment that supports health, protects all especially children, and makes the healthy choice the easy choice.” Joanne continued.
The ‘Appetite for Change’ exhibition and accompanying report aim to stimulate wider conversations among the public and policymakers. By highlighting lived experiences and structural constraints, Safefood seeks to ensure that future policy discussions regarding Ireland's food systems are rooted in the views of its citizens.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Deirbhile Brennan
Tel: 086 457 6093
Email: [email protected]
OR
Heidi Morgan
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Editor’s Note:
About Safefood
Safefood is the all-island body set up under the British-Irish Agreement with a general remit to promote awareness and knowledge of food safety and nutrition issues on the island of Ireland.
What is a ‘Food Environment’?
The ‘food environment’ is the physical, economic, and social context that shapes our dietary choices. It encompasses:
- Availability: The types of food available in our local shops, schools, workplaces, and takeaway outlets.
- Marketing & Promotion: The advertising we see on billboards, TV, and social media, as well as price promotions (e.g. "buy one get one free") on unhealthy foods.
- Pricing: The relative cost of healthy food compared to highly processed, energy-dense options.
- Physical Environment: How shops are laid out - for example, placing sweets at checkouts or eye-level to encourage impulse buys.
- Social Norms: The cultural and social "rules" that influence what we consider a normal portion size or a standard meal.
About the ‘Talk About Food’ Campaign
Launched in 2024, ‘Talk About Food’ is a five-year campaign by Safefood. It represents a shift in public health messaging, moving away from focusing solely on individual behaviour to a "systems-approach". The campaign’s long-term vision is to build a healthier food environment so that healthy eating is within reach of every child and every community on the island.
About the Citizen Engagement Workshops
In late 2025, Safefood conducted 12 workshops across the island, involving parents, community groups, and youth organisations. Facilitators worked with participants to reimagine six specific food environments. Illustrator Steve Doogan attended these sessions, capturing ideas in real-time to create the 24 final illustrations revealed today.
Workshops across the island were held in the following locations:
- Galway City Partnership, Galway City
- Limerick City Partnership Men’s Shed, Limerick
- Scoil Neasin, Artane, Dublin
- Mol an Óige Community National School, Ennistymon, Co Clare
- Carrick-on-Shannon Watersports Club, Leitrim
- Kilbogget Park Sports Group, Dublin
- MTU Culinary Student Group, Cork.
- Public Participation Network, Sligo
- Top of The Rock Healthy Living Centre, Belfast
- Action Mental Health, Downpatrick
- Resurgam Healthy Living Centre, Lisburn
- African Caribbean Support Organisation, Belfast
