Living Lab Ireland

Irish households’ healthy and sustainable food consumption

Main Focus and Objectives

The Irish LL will promote healthier and more sustainable food choices in Ireland by engaging stakeholders and using innovative approaches aligned with the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategy. Through co-design and evaluation, we’ll empower households with user-friendly digital tools, uncover barriers to adoption, and use AI to support sustainable eating. Key objectives include:

Regional Recipe Database: Curate 200 regional recipes using national nutrition survey data, reflecting local traditions and seasonal ingredients, with nutritional content aligned with dietary guidelines.

Co-design of WiseFood Applications: Engage a multi-actor panel from academia, industry, government, and civil society to provide feedback and tailor the app to Irish households’ needs.

Feasibility Evaluation: Conduct a study with 100 households to assess the impact and practicality of the WiseFood applications on food choices, national guidelines, and sustainability.

Region Background and Challenges

In the past two decades, obesity rates in Ireland have doubled, with one in four children and six in ten adults affected. This trend is contributing to a rise in chronic non-communicable diseases. While national policy aims to empower families to make healthier choices, there is a lack of digital tools to support dietary improvements at the family level. This Living Lab offers a promising solution to help Irish families optimise nutrition and shift to more sustainable, lower-impact diets.

LL Actors, Target Groups and Methodology

Living Lab will target households for its evaluation trial to enhance parental involvement and drive food choice changes in children. A recruitment strategy will ensure a representative sample, reflecting diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

A local multi-actor stakeholder panel of 50 participants will co-design the WiseFood applications. Additional stakeholders will include nutritionists, dietitians, and policymakers. Recruitment will focus on CHO Areas 7 and 9, which together cover 30% of Ireland’s population, including both urban and rural areas.