TİDER wins global award for combining food aid with jobs

More than seven years ago, Serhan Süzer, a CEO in the fast-food sector, heard Bob Forney, the founder of the Global Food Banking Network, speak passionately on the need to bring surplus food to people in need. He then started a journey that would lead to Global Food Bank's first-ever innovation award for his new approach to food banking: providing beneficiaries of the food bank to get back on their feet by finding them jobs.

"After the first 15 minutes of Mr. Forney's speech, I was determined to be a part of the program that would bring the surplus food in the markets and food chains to the people who needed it," Süzer told the Hürriyet Daily News about his first encounter with food banking.  He had just been back from the United States where he received the innovation award on behalf of Temel İhtiyaç Derneği (TİDER - Basic Needs Foundation).

Moved by Forney's passionate calls, Süzer and eight like-minded colleagues acted swiftly to establish a Food Banking Association, one of the first private initiatives in Turkey and the forefather of TİDER. The founders included Emine Feyhan Yaşar from Yaşar Holding, known for its Pınar dairy products; Melih Ödemiş, the co-founder of Yemek Sepeti, an online food command service, Can Ekinci, the ex-CEO of Starbucks; and Aziz Akgül, a former member of parliament who worked hard to enact a law that facilitated Turkish businesses to give away surplus or soon-to-expire food.

"It was clear that there was an acute need in Turkey," Süzer said. "One out of every seven Turk lives under the poverty line. On the other hand, 325,000 tons of food, worth 414 billion Turkish Liras, is wasted every year. "

In Turkey, a bill which passed in 2004 provides tax exemptions to businesses and individuals who make...