Filenews 16 July 2023 - by Myrto Zoumidou
About food waste and the footprint it leaves behind on our already burdened planet, we hear and read a lot every day. Cyprus is not far from food waste indicators globally. Quite the opposite!

Looking for some facts on the subject, we met the Zero Food Waste Cyprus team and some of the most battle-worthy volunteer warriors of food waste in our country. Every Saturday in the OXI market they save hundreds of kilos of fruit and vegetables that would end up in landfills and distribute them to people who need them to meet their weekly needs. How is the procedure done? Some of the producers who set up stalls in the OXI market, offer to the team of Zero Food Waste Cyprus, fruits and vegetables which, either are not preferred for "aesthetic" reasons by consumers, or until the next purchase are going to spoil. The volunteers then divide them into edible and non-edible to dispose of those that are in good condition and compost the rest.

So our first stop was the OXI market at 3 pm, when the visitors of the market were quite reduced and the producers were slowly gathering their wares to leave. There we met a large group of volunteers, working busily, singling out the fruits and vegetables given to them by the producers. Others had undertaken the communication with the producers and the transportation of the boxes with the "gifts" of the producers, to the point where the volunteers were gathered and worked.

After the necessary recommendations from the team's communication manager, Dimitra Theodotou, with the volunteers, we followed Tamam, a young Syrian, who, as he explained to us, has been living in our country for the last 15 years. He is one of those responsible in the process that needs to be done in the market. On Saturdays he goes to the market from 13:30 to arrange everything he needs with the producers.

Now everyone who contributes to the team knows him and calls him out on their own to offer whatever they want to the team. Along with him is Antonis, another volunteer who shoulders the same duties. We follow them to meet some of the producers and ask their opinion. All those we talked to, spoke with the best words about the cooperation with the team of Zero Waste Cyprus and especially about the relationships they developed with the team.
They gladly give as many of their products as could be disposed of, knowing that they will end up with people who really need them instead of in landfills since they will not be suitable for consumption/sale after today.. It is reasonable to ask whether all producers on the OXI market are aware of the initiative taking place there. The answer was that not everyone is positive about this effort. There are those who ignore the initiative and have never donated a single piece of fruit.

The treatment of producers in group action
Several producers, as they themselves told us, viewed the action of the initiative very positively from the outset. Offering fruits and vegetables reduces their own workload since fruits and vegetables donated to the group would spoil until the next purchase or would not be sold because of their appearance. By donating them to the team, they don't have to bother loading them and returning them to their fields and warehouses just to throw them away. At the same time, they are pleased that the preserved edible fruits and vegetables are given to vulnerable groups of the population.

One of the things that struck us is that the volunteers who join the team come from different countries. For example, when we visited the market, we met volunteer students from various countries who have been in our country for a year with the European Erasmus program and are attending actions related to sustainability. It was also the first time for them to participate in this effort but they worked as a group as if they have always been a member of the team. We also saw refugees who are in our country with the status of asylum seekers, contributing to the effort by transporting the heavy boxes from one place to another and loading them later into cars.

We moved between them and watched the whole effort, which was really painstaking. We asked the opinion of some who told us that they would rather "miss" Saturday afternoon offering for a cause that contributes to the common good than stay on the couch at home or go for a coffee with friends who could drink it at another time.

Around 16:00 when the market closes and the producers leave, the team of volunteers of Zero Waste Cyprus, load in their personal vehicles the cases with fruits and vegetables and transport them to the courtyard of the Anglican church on Byron Avenue in Nicosia. There they set up their own aftermarket.

Our next stop is the courtyard of the Anglican Church. We follow the convoy that departs from the market with the volunteers and we arrive with them there to watch the aftermarket process. To our great surprise, we found that there were several people there waiting patiently for the volunteers to get fruit and vegetables to cover basic food needs. I think that in the end there are more people in serious need in our country than we think.

From afar I watch a little girl with her mother chatting with Tamam. I think they are regular visitors to the after market and have met before. A few minutes later I see him heading to his car and taking down a huge bear and giving it to the little one... The excitement of... indescribable! Tatam's smile is even bigger. He also takes down two cakes from his car and cuts them into pieces and kisses the guests.
After getting rid of the cases, the fruits and vegetables were lined up. From the most "heavy" to the lightest. The reason, as they explained to us, is that when they are placed in the bags, there should be the "heavy" ones at the bottom so as not to press the rest until they are transported to people's homes.

Then the appropriate instructions were given to the volunteers, after all, some were there for the first time, and papers were distributed to the recipients. From number 1 to 25 they concern families, so that volunteers know that they need to donate more products and manage the quantities available to them accordingly.
We follow the process closely and Antonis explains that more or less the people who are helped are known and the team makes sure to satisfy as much as possible their eating habits since they come from different countries, cultures etc. As he explained, anyone in need can go there with their own bag and volunteers will make sure to supply them with whatever is available in fruits and vegetables. And whatever is left over at the end of the action, they are delivered to organizations with which Zero Food Waste Cyprus is in an open line of communication and cooperation, who will use them for their own needs.

The... Rescue in numbers
For the record, that Saturday, the Zero Waste Cyprus team rescued 556 kilos of fruits and vegetables, of which 101 kilos were composted. The surviving products were offered to 42 people (families and singles) and covered some of their weekly needs for fruits and vegetables.

The first step... inspired by similar actions abroad
Back in February 2018, the founder of Zero Food Waste Cyprus, Alexia Kalourkoti, inspired by international actions in the field of combating food waste, wanted to act by doing something about the uncontrolled levels of food waste on our island. So she went down to the OXI street market in Nicosia and after talking with the local producers, she collected as many fruits and vegetables as she could fit in her car.

Then, in collaboration with CARITAS, the first fruits and vegetables that were "rescued" before ending up in landfills were distributed to people in need. Thus, Saturday was established as the day for the collection – rescue of vegetables by the volunteers of the initiative and then their distribution to people in need.
In the years that have passed, until today, the effort and with the contribution of Social Media, grows more and more in human resources that act voluntarily in the markets by rescuing fruits and vegetables, which are available to vulnerable people in need, but also in existence as a Non-Governmental Organization that intervenes wherever possible to inform about food waste and the footprint it leaves on the environment.

The objectives of the initiative
"The main objective of our initiative is to reduce food waste and its negative impact on the environment. Through the realization of our action, we reduce this social problem in practice, since the fruits and vegetables we save, which are edible, are consumed, while those that are inedible are composted.
Although the main objectives of our initiative are primarily environmental, we cannot omit the fact that through our action we simultaneously achieve the reduction of the problem of starvation since the preserved edible fruits and vegetables are distributed to vulnerable groups of the population.

Globally, nearly 1.3 billion tons of food end up in the trash every year, even though they could be eaten. At the same time, 868 million people suffer from starvation. Therefore, the amount of tons of food wasted could cover four times the needs of these 868 million. people who are malnourished", explains Dimitra Theodotou, communication manager of Zero Food Waste Cyprus.

71 tonnes of fruit and vegetables rescued since 2018
Zero Food Waste Cyprus is currently carrying out two actions. The Sunday Aftermarket takes place every Saturday at the OXI market in Nicosia while the Wasteless Wednesdays action takes place every Wednesday in Kyrenia since March 2021. In both actions, volunteers rescue vegetables they take from producers. Much of the rescued fruits and vegetables that are in good condition are available to people in need. Those that are not edible, are separated by the volunteers themselves, end up in the composting process. At the same time, volunteers participate in various actions and events of other organizations and local organizations in order to inform the local community about food waste and its impacts.

The voluntary actions of the initiative are reflected in particularly impressive statistics maintained by the team. So far, since the beginning of its action in 2018, Zero Food Waste Cyprus has managed to rescue more than 71,000 kilos of fruits and vegetables that were donated to more than 9,000 people in need. At the same time, more than 4,000 thousand fruits and vegetables that were saved but inedible have been composted.
In short... Food waste and its impacts
According to studies, around 88 million tonnes of food are wasted every year in the EU. This corresponds to about 20% of all food produced. These foods end up in landfills and, due to lack of oxygen, do not dissolve but rot, resulting in methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. At the same time, food waste in chains results in the waste of water and other natural and financial resources.
Recognition
The initiative in recent years has received huge recognition from the local community and is increasingly embraced and grows with its human resources. In fact, it was recently honoured by the youth of the Green Movement with the environmental award. However, this recognition would further strengthen the team's effort if there was also recognition from the Municipality and the competent services to cover some of the needs.
Photos: George Christoforou