Representatives of “Boroume”, a virtual food bank in Athens, visited Leket Israel to learn how they operate their countrywide food collection programs and manage an extensive volunteer network throughout Israel. Click here for the full article and photos:
During their two day trip in February, Boroume (“We Can”) representatives visited Leket Israel and explored the organization’s activities throughout the country to learn firsthand how they run their food rescue initiatives as well as operate a complex volunteer network.
In May 2011, during the Economic Crisis in Greece, Xenia Papastavruo, while sitting in a restaurant in Athens where she lives, saw just how much food was thrown away at the end of the work-day. A similar experience happened to Joseph Gitler in 2003 which led to the establishment of Leket Israel – The National Food Bank.
Like Gitler, Xenia asked herself what she can do to prevent the waste of so much fresh food, especially during the peak of Greece’s economic crisis, where 30% of Greek citizens were falling below the poverty line, 7 times more than before the outbreak of the situation. Xenia did some research and found that there was something missing between the hungry in need of receiving food and those who were interested in donating food, and thus decided to create a website to connect the two. In this way, Boroume was born, its’ motto being “save food, save lives.” This organization serves as a virtual food bank: unlike Leket Israel, Boroume doesn’t have warehouses, trucks, or refrigerators but instead serves as the contact between food donors and nonprofit agencies across Greece caring for the needy. Since its’ founding, Boroume has distributed approximately 850,000 meals.
Xenia and her colleagues are very interested in developing a gleaning program modeled after Leket Israel’s Project Leket. From the very start, Leket Israel has been a role model for Boroume and it was a wonderful opportunity for them to finally visit the operation in person.
It is a great honor for Leket Israel, their volunteers and staff, when colleagues from all around the globe come to learn and to share best practices with similar organizations.
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