Rescue & Food Offering Partnerships: Pervolarides Thessaloniki

Over the last months we have welcomed Pervolarides Thessaloniki to the Boroume “family”. They are a group of people with a multifaceted project and with a common denominator of social innovation, social solidarity and contribution. You meet them in the farmers’ markets of Thessaloniki as members of the volunteer group in the framework of the program "Boroume at the Farmers’ Market". You meet them in the parts of the city where the homeless or needy families live to offer cooked food and fresh fruit and vegetables they have collected from the farmers ‘markets.

Thanks to their dynamic participation and presence, we have managed to save and offer more than 2,573 kg of usable fruits and vegetables for a good cause.

Below you can read more about our partnership. 

A few words about Pervolarides Thessaloniki
Pervolarides Thessaloniki is a diverse community of volunteers that has been active since 2013. Based on food and its entire cycle (sowing and growing, harvesting the fruits, recovering wasted food, processing and cooking it, distributing of fresh food and vegetables to families and the homeless, the composting of unusable materials), the association creates relationships that empower both our volunteers and people in need. Many times the distinction between volunteer and beneficiary is not clear, as the latter try to be involved as much as possible in the process and equally utilize their abilities. Now the Pervolarides group, from autumn 2021, has the legal form of an Association. People who have shelter but continue to live in precarious conditions number around 100 and receive weekly cooked food and vegetables or only vegetables and other products. The number of homeless people fed weekly is about 40. 

What reasons prompted you to work with Boroume
Factors such as the good potential of our volunteers, our desire to develop our actions and communicate our attitude towards food, the needs of more and more of our fellow citizens that unfortunately cannot be met, pushed us to turn to Boroume. We also aim to network and collaborate with as many groups and organizations as possible with whom we share common goals. The help to people in need, the strengthening of the community through joint actions, as well as the utilization of the food so that it does not end up - most likely - in the landfill. 

How did you find out about Boroume
Through another group that operates in the city of Thessaloniki, Oikopolis, and with which we have a long-standing partnership. 

Can you describe your cooperation with Boroume in two words
We are absolutely delighted with the support we have received. All the products we systematically receive through Boroume are a tool for our group to support people in need and also to be a food gathering/distribution hub for other groups as well. Boroume's response to our requests is immediate and this is particularly helpful for our work.

Complete the sentence "We can...
inspire more people to respect food and appreciate the positive impact that reducing waste will have on society and the environment".