Local NGO takes action against unnecessary food waste in Croatia
Portal Dobrote (Portal of Kindness), an NGO founded by four women from Zagreb to help people in need, has organized a praiseworthy action earlier today on Dolac market, reports zagreb.info on April 15th 2017. Apart from Zagreb, the action was simultaneously carried out in Kutina, Osijek and Oroslavje.
One of the market stands was marked by a sign saying “If you have an excess of food – leave some here. If you need food – take some.” Multiple crates intended for food donations quickly filled up by generous market customers, as well as by vendors who are often left with a surplus of goods at the end of the day. Such produce goes to waste in a short period of time and gets thrown away – add that to a daily amount of aliments discarded by supermarket chains, and you’re left with a shocking annual sum of more than 400.000 tonnes of food ending up in trash while more than 800.000 Croats live in poverty.
The goal of the initiative is to ensure that as much produce as possible that would otherwise be disposed of ends up in the hands of those who need it the most. People are encouraged to organize similar actions at their local markets, to donate to food banks in their neighbourhoods and to buy fresh produce from local family farms.
The founders recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to build a free mobile app called “Green Happy Hour” meant to motivate further local engagement. The app will provide information on where you can buy produce directly from local manufacturers and where to donate food you don’t need.
Learn more about the campaign here and donate if you can!
