"Say No to Food Waste" Campaign Launched Under the Leadership of İTO

The details of the "Say No to Food Waste" campaign, launched under the leadership of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) to raise awareness about the thousands of tons of food wasted each year and to leave a more livable world for future generations, were announced at a press conference held at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce's Eminönü Headquarters with the participation of İTO President Şekib Avdagiç, executives of the campaign's partner institutions - among them Mustafa Topaloğlu, Board Member representing TÜROB - and İTO Board Members.

Speaking at the meeting, İTO President Şekib Avdagiç said: "In our country, 19 million tons of food is wasted each year. In other words, we throw approximately 43.3 billion dollars into the garbage every year. Nothing you own simply because you paid for it belongs entirely to you. If, because we wasted food, a person, a woman or a child in this country goes to bed without access to food, then a share of that sin falls on us as well." Taking the floor at the meeting, TÜROB Board Member Mustafa Topaloğlu stated that, as TÜROB, they regard the campaign as an extremely important step toward preventing food waste and that they, together with all TÜROB members, will provide the necessary support.

Within the framework of the project, awareness training against waste will be provided to producers, retailers, the service sector and schools. The project's goal is to reach 100,000 people directly - and indirectly 500,000 people - in Istanbul through the training provided to these 4 groups. A total of 90 minutes of training, in two 45-minute parts, will impart lasting knowledge on 5 key topics. Within this framework, participants will be informed about where we stand on food waste, the scale of current waste, in which products and sectors the most waste occurs, the monetary value of this waste and what we stand to gain if it is prevented, and finally the communication and awareness dimension.

The project led by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce is supported as partners by the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Trade, the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the Istanbul Commodity Exchange, Istanbul Commerce University, TÜROB Türkiye Otelciler Birliği, the Food Retailers Association, Istanbul PERDER, the United Brands Association, the Association of All Restaurants and Tourism Professionals, and the Association of Tourism Restaurant Investors and Gastronomy Enterprises.

ATTACHMENT: Detailed information about the campaign