September 29 is International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, so it's a special day for Boroume.
A day of joy because now more and more actors are engaged, informed and active to reduce food waste. When we started over 10 years ago we felt that we were almost alone in Greece in this fight.
A day of concern because, while since 2011 we have saved more than 70 million portions of food, which we have offered to more than 650 charitable organizations throughout Greece, we know that this is a small part of the total waste and that we still have a long way to go.
A day of pride because we now have various programs at our disposal, not only to save & reduce food waste (Saving & Offering Food, Boroume at the Farmers’ Market, Boroume Gleaning), to increase awareness and information about the issue (Awareness Program "Every Meal Matters", Boroume at School, SavingFood Ambassador of Boroume), but also to create the conditions of cooperation necessary to face such a complex and multi-layered challenge (Alliance for the Reduction of Food Waste, Certification Scheme “No Food Waste”).
A day of reflection on what exactly still needs to be done in Greece to reduce food waste, whether it is at the level of informing citizens, training students and professionals of food and catering companies, or at the regulatory level. Through our participation since 2016 in the EU Platform on Food Loss and Waste, we know that we are not where we should be and for that we must continue to fight every day.
Finally and above all else, a day of gratitude for the countless people who have supported us since our first day of operation when we proposed a rescue & food supply model that did not exist anywhere in the world, for partners in charities, companies, public benefit organizations and organizations that have honored us with their cooperation and trust and above all the more than 2.500 wonderful volunteers who have supported us over the years.