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Recovery – Collect food scraps to fight against waste by Hôtel★★★ Restaurant gourmand Coco Lodge Majunga

Do not throw away leftover food is a reflex that can restore the smile to thousands of people.
But it is necessary to arrange for the collection and recovery of food. The association Boroume in Greece has found the solution and in 2014, the recovered food could be more than 1 300 000 meals, valued at nearly two million euros. These meals have been distributed to people in need. A solution against waste, accumulation of waste, but also food insecurity.

End 2011, a group of friends has recovered 12 unsold cheese pies in a bakery in a poor neighbourhood, to the West of Athens. They worked to give them to the local soup kitchen, managed by the Church. Three and a half years later, They coordinate the daily distribution of approximately 4 000 surplus meals to various charities across the Greece. This not-for-profit association is called Boroume ("It is possible". ! » Greek) and combating waste, by organizing the distribution of leftover food to charities. The founders - Alexia Moatsou, Xenia Papastavrou and Alexandros Theodoridis - and dozens of volunteers dedicated work every day to reduce food waste.

Not even in 2014, Boroume has "saved" more 1 300 000 meals from the trash, an increase of 400 % in relation to 2013 the amount of food recovered and redistributed to the people in need. If it is found to 1,50 euro each serving of food, their contribution reached almost two million euros.
"Creating our Organization., It was not expected to get such a response or to successfully coordinate the collection and distribution of thousands of meals a day., confess Alexandros

Theodoridis, one of the three founders of Boroume.
Thanks to a simple call to the association, all leftover food to a family dinner, an event in a company, a reception wedding or a supermarket, among others, may be given to a soup kitchen or institution that needs. As explained by the founders, the food waste in Greece is related to our lifestyle. We live in a consumer society where people tend to buy or order in too large quantities.
Collection project

Since its launch in 2011, Boroume has created a map of all Greek food aid programs which is available on their website. Today, the database contains more than 660 organizations likely to receive food throughout the country, as for soup kitchens and more 180 municipal welfare services. The organization relies heavily on its volunteers. According to figures from 2014, on average 30 people contribute to the operation of Boroume and 65 new entrants have been trained this year there.

En 2014, the association has launched four new initiatives to reduce food waste and help poor families : a project of collection to retrieve some fresh fruits and vegetables that cannot be sold on the market and who are doomed to rot in the fields ; "The Boroume family" project that provides a help food thanks to donations from the Greece and elsewhere, which are paid directly to people in need ; "Boroume in your neighbourhood" initiative whereby groups of volunteers lead awareness on food waste ; and the project "Boroume in school., a series of educational activities that mainly target children at primary school.

Boroume has invested a lot in its project of gathering. En 2014, the team was able to save more than four tonnes of fruit and vegetables in different regions of Greece. As explained by Alexander Theodoridis, "we organize meetings with farmers across the country to convince them to not let unsaleables fresh loose., Emphasizing that we send volunteers collect the products according to strict rules in order to do not damage crops..

What is impressive, It is the ability of the association to mobilize support from people beyond the Greek borders. Someone who lives abroad can help people in need through Boroume. A Canadian of Greek origin has worked with the association to donate a ton of foods at a centre for people suffering from chronic diseases and the association Kentro Agapis to Eleusis.

"Seeing the large number of people who wanted to help families in need., We launched in July 2014 the program 'The great family Boroume', "an initiative that facilitates the food aid to recipients who are most affected by the crisis economic and which are registered in the municipal welfare services., says Alexander Theodoridis. Since the launch, six donors originating from three countries contributed a total of 3 660 euros that were transformed into vouchers for 38 beneficiaries enrolled in three municipalities participating in the stage social services program pilot. "Thanks to these warrants, families can buy the food they need without having to queue at a soup. Their only obligation is to submit the receipts to social services., concludes Alexander Theodoridis.

by Hôtel★★★ Restaurant gourmand Coco Lodge Majunga