My hope: For Cork to have a ‘green heart’

Even as a teenager, Virginia O’Gara had remarkable sustainability values.

Coming from a conservative yet ive upbringing, as a DIY punk rock-loving Texan teen, she took her first steps as an activist with Food Not Bombs, an all-volunteer movement that recovers food that would otherwise be discarded and shares free vegan and vegetarian meals with the hungry.

“There was a tremendous amount of food waste that was occurring, and more money was spent on war than actually taking care of American citizens. When I was 14 years old, I found out about Food Not Bombs. I was really inspired, so we started a Dallas chapter, and we would see hundreds of people outside of the Dallas City Library once a week… it was a really eye-opening experience.”

Soon, O’Gara was spreading her wings, all the while learning more about food and its sustainable management.

“I travelled up to San Francisco to work with the Food Not Bombs chapter. It was in 1995, and I had graduated from high school early. I was able to go out there and work for Food Not Bombs while I was on tour with a couple of punk bands.

I met up with some great people who worked in the San Francisco chapter and some incredible chefs and learned a lot about organising food on a larger scale that is based on the ethics of zero waste and ing the most marginalised societies, marginalised populations and society. It was a great place to be.

“I worked for the University of California on a recycling and composting project. It was a great place to learn a lot about systems within circular waste systems and composting and recycling.”

From there, Virginia travelled extensively and continued to build her understanding of food systems on a permaculture farm in Central America.

“I wound up in Guatemala, where I worked in a permaculture farm with Mayan farmers. It was during the time of the civil war in Chiapas, and I was interested in working with populations in Chiapas who were being oppressed.

“So, I learned a lot about growing food and living off of the land, and I became a beekeeper at 18. From there, I learned about permaculture, which is the philosophy of design, and it is a way of creating sustainable environments within your life, including your garden, including your business that you run.

“It’s a great way of communicating in relationships and forming cities, and you can take this philosophy of design to the nth degree.”

During her late teens, O’Gara returned to the U.S to work with a DIY sustainability group that was developing urban sustainability solutions. Her thirst for knowledge ultimately led her to Irish shores, and soon, she arrived in its true republic, Cork.

“Ireland was one of the only places in the world with a two-year programme based on permaculture. I was accepted into college here at the Kinsale College of Further Education. 

I’m an ecology major, but this is where I came to study permaculture. Then I wound up being asked to stay on to teach.

All these experiences and areas of expertise culminated in the formation of a business 11 years ago that reflects Virginia perfectly: My Goodness. The name is fitting for a food business that sells fresh vegan, probiotic, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free food and drinks, unpinned by ethical employment practices and zero waste ethos.

“Fiona Gannon and I started My Goodness because we wanted to be able to provide good food that was affordable, because we believe good food should be a right and not a privilege. We wanted to be able to make food that we could stand behind and agree with. That is ethical, that treads lightly on the earth and with respect to all living things.

“You know, we’re both vegan. Also, we wanted to be able to create a business that was vegan, and then what’s more than that, we also wanted to create a business where everyone could feel safe eating in it.

“So, we cater to the most marginalised diets. We always make sure there’s food for people with diabetes. Everything we do is gluten-free, so celiacs know they can eat with us and not get sick.

“We sprout our legumes so they are more digestible for people with issues with digestion. 

We also wanted to value farmers and make better connections with food that’s being grown here and use it in interesting ways.

My Goodness has evolved and grown considerably since its beginnings. While Fiona subsequently fell in love and moved to Spain, Virginia’s husband, Donal, has been on hand since the beginning and is now a director.

The team has grown over the past decade, with quite a few long-time staff, and Virginia is ionate about ensuring a fair and just experience for all.

“People tend to stay because, in addition to creating a good product, one of the main parts of our ethos is to treat people with respect, and if we have to work for a living if we all have to be wage slaves in this world, you might as well create a business that you can believe in and get behind; we always create an atmosphere of respect, it is important to know that you are going to be safe, that you are not going to be yelled at, you’re going to be treated with respect.”

Not only does Virginia want the team to feel safe, but also the freedom to work when it suits them. My Goodness’s approach to employees is a masterclass in inclusion.

We let everyone decide their own schedules. We prioritise single moms, of course. You just work in a way that seems really normal and natural. And I wish more businesses operated like that.

Her long-term vision is for My Goodness to run as a collective, managed without hierarchy, and with every person having equal decision-making power. For now, there are some hurdles to overcome in order to achieve this goal.

“Eventually, I would love for this to be a collectively run business. But that takes a lot of organising. Really, even legally, in Ireland, it’s a grey area as far as having many, many owners who are egalitarian.”

From health-boosting kimchi to kombucha, kefir to mouthwatering, often playfully named fresh and colourful lunches, My Goodness’s offering is an act of rebellion against the tide of ultra-processed, unethical and plastic-wrapped options that currently swamp our shelves.

They have been running a glass container return scheme for years, with a simple yet effective system and a loyal and growing following who appreciate their zero waste approach.

“We had a rule from the very beginning that we didn’t want to use plastic or disposable containers. We work with small shops that work with our zero-waste ethos. They sell our products, the customers bring back our bottles and jars, and they get 50 cents or 20 cents back for each thing, and then we pick it up from the shop. We give them the money, then our return scheme makes way more sense than the government return scheme!”

My Goodness’s capacity to do good is remarkable. This small-scale business took the initiative to set up a Goods for Gaza stall last October, with people from Cork and beyond donating handmade items to sell, and all funds going directly to Gaza.

This initiative has raised in excess of €20,000 since it began, a testament to what a united community can achieve.

Virginia is most proud of her involvement in the Cork Urban Soil Project. Using an aerobic digester, My Goodness now creates compost to grow food from its minimal waste.

“All of our food waste is actually an important resource, not a waste product. We were able to put all of that into our biodigester and turn it into usable compost instead of having it as somebody else’s problem, and we’re using that compost to grow food and herbs for our kitchen.”

This approach is gaining a lot of attention from a diverse range of organisations, including the defence forces and local councils after being featured on Nationwide. Virginia sees a lot of potential for this project.

I would love to see the core urban soil project spill out closer to the city centre. 

"I’d love to start looking at various green spaces around us, potential food growing places because growing food also builds community.

“I have one big dream. I would love to see the English Market with a biodigester in the middle of it so we can start pumping out compost in the centre of Cork city. We could have a green heart of Cork city.”

With Virginia’s determination, it is only a matter of time before this dream becomes reality. Cork is most fortunate to have such a visionary changemaker in our midst.

My Goodness is situated in units 1&2 of the English Market, and they can also be found at the Mahon Point and Douglas Farmers Market.

Their feelgood produce is available in the Gather, Menloe Stores, the Quay Co-op and Organico in Cork City and county. It is also available in selected outlets in Dublin, Kilkenny and Waterford.