SOCIETY

The Food Bank of Drama was established in October 2019 following a proposal by the President of the Food Bank of Athens to Ladies Union of Drama - H.O.H and is the 4th Food Bank in Greece, as well as a member of the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA).

The distribution of food aid happens through three targeted programs in which beneficiaries of Ladies Union of Drama - H.O.H. are selected based on strict social and financial criteria. The aforementoned programs are:

1. "SYN-ENOSIS" Program. A hundred and twenty five (125) families with underage children, with five hundred and eleven (511) members in total, benefit by the program of food aid that is implemented by the Company of Social Contribution of Greek Shipowners SYN-ENOSIS in cooperation with the Ladies Union of Drama - H.O.H, getting essential food products, long term food products and personal hygiene products on a monthly basis.

2. "Care for the Third Age" Program. It services seventy five (75) beneficiary families with a hundred and seventy four (174) members in total, which, once a month, receive a package with long term food products, fresh products and personal hygiene products. The program is implemented utilizing Ladies' Union of Drama - H.O.H. own means.

3. "Food Aid and Basic Material Assistance". This program services the needs of eighty seven (87) members with one hundred and fourty six members (146), and is financed by the Fund for European Aid for the Most Deprived (FEAD) distributing food and basic material goods, and is combined with measures that contribute to the social integration of the beneficiaries. 

The Food Bank of Drama has also secured a very important partnership with the company AB Vasilopoulos, since products with a close expiration date that cannot be sold in its branch stores are donated in weekly, in order to be distributed to beneficiaries of the organization.

Simultaneously, on a daily basis food aid is being distributed that come from donations and products with close expiration dates in a plentitude of beneficiaries that do not participate in a particular food aid program, and are facing the phenomenon of hunger. The total number of beneficiary family members that receive food aid by the Food Bank of Drama are more than 1800.

The Food Bank of Drama is mostly based on private initiatives, promotive volunteering. Volunteers and employees of various specialties participate in the design and implementation of the food distribution, contributing on all levels, from the communication with the companies and the donors, the reception and recording of the products to the creation of the lists of beneficiaries and the final aid distribution.

The innovation of the project of the Food Bank of Drama lies in the fact that it combines the combat against the phenomenon of hunger with the combat agains food waste, and the promotion of responsible consumption and production. In the European Union approximately 88 million tons of food are lost or wasted annually with associated costs estimated at 143 billion EUR . At the same time, around 110 million people were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2018, and 33 million people were not able to afford a quality meal every second day.Through the redistribution of surplus food, it ensures both humanitarian aid to people that live in situations of food insecurity, as well as the reduction of enviromental pollution, since studies have proven that food waste consitutes one of the main causes for the emission of pollutants and burden to the environment.