Galway Hosts Third CIBUS Stakeholder Meeting at BIA Campus

On 23rd June 2025, Galway County Council and BIA Innovator Campus hosted the third Regional Stakeholder Meeting (RSM3) of the CIBUS Interreg Europe project. Held at the BIA Innovator Campus in Athenry, the meeting brought together stakeholders from across sectors to explore how community engagement, education, and policy learning can contribute to reducing food loss and waste at the regional level.

The session supported Galway’s work within the CIBUS project, which brings together nine European partners to co-design food waste policy solutions. The current semester focuses on identifying and sharing regional good practices that can be transferred between territories.
 

Highlights from the Meeting

• Pablo Moreno, representing BIA Innovator Campus, shared insights gathered during the CIBUS Interregional Meeting (CIM3) in Cyprus. His presentation highlighted the best practices presented among all different CIBUS partners, highlighting those that he considered most interesting and with more potential to be transferred to the Galway region. Some of the examples were the Cozzo app from Bulgaria, and the Quasimodo products and FoodFlow System from Cyprus. 
• Patrick Mulvihill (Amicitia) presented the work undertaken locally to develop a Community Food Charter for Athenry, rooted in the principles of creative placemaking and inclusive engagement. His contribution demonstrated how community-led processes can define shared food values and support long-term systems change.
• Paula Whyte, an educator and facilitator, offered insights into the role of training and education in tackling food waste. Her session raised valuable questions about where key knowledge gaps lie—especially for young people and educators—and how awareness can be better embedded through curricula and public engagement.
• Pablo Moreno presented in detail a practical example from Maramureș County Council (Romania) regarding their experience in revising public procurement contracts to promote sustainability and increased health in food services. This prompted meaningful discussions on how similar levers could be applied in an Irish context.
• The event concluded with a brief presentation of one of the Irish Best practices, FoodCloud, which in particular, they presented their Food Kitchen initiative, offering a complimentary lunch from the FoodCloud food truck, where participants a hands-on experience of circular economy in action—turning surplus food into nourishing meals

Collaborative Engagement and Outcomes
Participants engaged in focused discussions around:

• The need to align local actions with funding streams that can support integrated food system innovation;
• Opportunities to explore a pilot initiative on school meals and food waste, building on identified interest and cross-sector relevance;
• Strengthening the role of public procurement in delivering sustainable food outcomes;
• Embedding food waste education more systematically in schools and community settings.

Conclusions
The meeting underscored the value of cross-sector dialogue in shaping effective food policies that reflect both local priorities and European ambitions. Stakeholders noted the importance of integrating learnings from different regions, such as the Romanian example on procurement reform, into local governance frameworks. By drawing on experiences across the CIBUS partnership, Galway is well positioned to pilot innovative solutions with broader transfer potential.

The discussions also highlighted the unique role of educators, community facilitators, and local enterprises in bridging the gap between food waste awareness and action. There was broad consensus that policy instruments should not only support technical interventions, but also invest in social infrastructure—relationships, knowledge sharing, and public engagement—that enables long-term systems change.

Looking ahead, Galway County Council and BIA Innovator Campus will continue to engage with stakeholders to shape regional contributions to the CIBUS Action Plan. Outcomes from this event will inform the identification of good practices for the semester report and support Galway’s strategic goals under the National Circular Economy Plan.