Understanding TİDER (Basic Needs Association)…

I haven’t had the time to write for a long time due to my workload. With this article, I’d like to announce that I’m breaking my writing fast, which lasted several months, and returning to the field. In this article, I wanted to discuss TİDER (Basic Needs Association), which holds great spiritual value for me and of which I am the founding president. I’ll be explaining TİDER from the perspective of its core vision. It’s helpful to look at the bigger picture to understand where we’re trying to go.

I’ve published numerous articles about TİDER before. However, I see that folks who aren’t familiar with the subject matter still struggle to grasp what we do. In this article, I want to share TİDER’s core vision and our goals—in short, the big picture. To this end, I’ll share the content of my presentations entitled “An Example of Social Innovation: An Innovative Value Chain Approach,” which I presented at two similarly focused events: TÜSİAD’s “Strategic Roadmap on Food Waste and Loss” conference and Boğaziçi University’s “Innovative Technologies in the Agriculture and Food Value Chain” conference.

A photo from my speech at Boğaziçi University…

 I’d like to expand on this topic. TİDER has two main visions:

1. Preventing waste
2. Enabling those in need to stand on their own two feet

 I would like to share with you our vision for preventing waste: I would like to share some numbers* with you to explain the extent of waste and poverty:

1. One-third of global food production, or 1.3 billion tons, is wasted. This is four times the amount needed to feed 868 million hungry people.
2. Total food waste worldwide costs $1 trillion and emits 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide.
3. The most wasted foods in Türkiye are vegetables, fruit, and bread.
4. 6 million loaves of bread are wasted in Türkiye.
5. Furthermore, there are 13 million undernourished citizens in our country, and the proportion of those living below the poverty line is 14%.

 

Once we grasp the statistics above, we can confidently say that we can easily feed the hungry worldwide and the undernourished citizens of our country with the waste of food. So, how can we prevent waste? I’ve previously written an article about the model we’ve developed: http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/uc-yaraya-bir-merhem-destek-projesi-1

In addition to this article, which explains how we’ve benefited from preventing waste, I’d like to share the bigger picture with you.

Here’s our waste prevention vision:

As you can see in the table above, food producers, wholesalers, and retailers donate products that can be consumed by humans to food banks. Food banks come in two formats: Support Markets, which distribute uncooked food in a dignified manner in a market format, or other related food banks; and Support Restaurants and other soup kitchens, which provide cooked meals and are planned to be established in the future. Products that cannot be consumed by humans but can be consumed by animals are donated either directly by food producers, wholesalers, and retailers, or from food banks to animal shelters.

Products from food producers, wholesalers, retailers, food banks, and animal shelters that have reached the level of organic waste, which animals cannot consume, are sent to biogas plants, where they generate two types of energy (electricity and heat) and two types of fertilizer (wet and dry). This way, we meet our energy needs and maintain the natural cycle. At TIDER, we aim to achieve this. We are currently busy establishing a food bank system. We will soon add animal shelters to this equation. Now, let’s move on to our second main vision: helping those in need become self-sufficient. We’ve developed a highly effective system for this: Support Market and Support HR.

I’ve previously written two articles about Support Market, Support HR, and the benefits they offer:

Here’s the article I wrote regarding Support Market: http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/uc-yaraya-bir-merhem-destek-projesi-2

As well as the article I wrote regarding Support HR: http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/uc-yaraya-bir-merhem-destek-projesi-3

Now, in addition to this information, I would like to proudly share with you two technologies we have developed to make our work at Support Market and Support HR more efficient: Support Cloud and Support HR Platform.

As you can see in the screenshot above, on one side are manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers donating the bare necessities (food, clothing, cleaning products, etc.); on the other side are food banks, animal shelters, and biogas plants accepting products. To illustrate how the system works, a supermarket in Adana posts 1,000 diapers to the system. A food bank in Ceyhan, Adana, reserves this donation and, on the agreed-upon date and time, sends its truck to pick up the goods. This way, this donation mechanism is both highly efficient and transparent.

Another piece of software we developed is the Destek HR Platform. Let’s look at a section of this platform:

We’ve created a needy version of Kariyer.net on the Support HR platform. For example, someone in need in Karabük can apply for open positions at nearby factories. Similarly, an HR manager at a factory in Zonguldak can ask, “Let me check TIDER’s database,” and invite the relevant person from our Support HR team for an interview. We believe this matching process will significantly accelerate vocational training.

As I mentioned before, with our Support HR model, we won the first-ever “Innovation Award” from the Global Foodbanking Network, a network of food banks from many countries. You can find my blog post about this at http://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/global-bir-stk-olma-yolundaki-tidere-buyuk-odul . As a reminder, I’d like to share the image of this honorary award with you:

We’ve finalized our plans to expand both the Support Cloud and Support HR Platform across Türkiye and are acting. We will do everything we can to ensure both software programs are used in every district of Türkiye. The support of all our friends is crucial to this endeavor.

I’ll be writing a more detailed article about both software programs later. I’d like to announce this now. Now, let’s move on to the collaboration models prioritized by TİDER. If you’d like to learn how you can support our work individually and corporately, here’s the answer:

1. Our “Take Care of Your Provincial District” Model: In many districts across Türkiye, the well-off and those in dire poverty live side by side. For example, Maltepe District, where our association is located, is divided into two parts: above and below the highway. As you approach the coast, wealth increases, while as you ascend the highway, poverty increases. We call on the well-off residents of Maltepe to take on this challenge: While your neighbors, just 1-2 kilometers away, are struggling to make ends meet, you too can take on more responsibility here. Come support our Association so we can help your neighbors thrive and, with your support, ensure social well-being in your region. We aim to implement this model in all relevant districts across Türkiye.

2. Individual and institutional actions for TİDER:

a) Participation in the volunteer program

b) Pro bono service, meaning supporting the association’s activities with your knowledge and experience. For example, if you are a lawyer, you can provide free legal support to the association.

c) Individual and corporate in-kind donations (basic goods)

d) Individual and corporate cash donations

We also place great importance on collaborations. Ensuring social welfare in the country is a very comprehensive and demanding task. We can only overcome this burden if the public, NGOs, and the private sector collaborate shoulder to shoulder. Accordingly:

1. Public-NGO Collaboration: We collaborate with relevant ministries, district governorships, municipalities, and neighborhood representatives (mukhtars).
2. NGO Collaboration: We want to collaborate with all relevant NGOs. We began by collaborating with our NGO colleagues on the Adım Adım platform. We strive to meet the basic needs of families in need while also doing everything we can to support their development. For example, if there is an ALS patient in the family, we will refer that family to the ALS-MNH Association, etc.
3. Private Sector-NGO Collaboration: We are ready for any kind of collaboration with the private sector. So long as they are willing to help. Many international and national companies operating in Türkiye have made in-kind and cash donations, supporting us in various areas. I would like to respectfully acknowledge these companies here again and extend my heartfelt gratitude to each of them. You can find the names of the companies below:

 

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(*) You can find the links that provide sources for the data in the article below:

Thanks to your support, we have been able to reach thousands of people and reach where we are. Thank you, and keep up the good work.

Now, I would like to reiterate the benefits we provide:

1. We prevent waste
2. Since in-kind donations are tax deductible, we encourage the private sector to make in-kind donations
3. We ensure that donations are made transparently through a single platform
4. We meet the basic needs of our beneficiaries
5. We ensure the development of those in need

 

We strive to achieve all of this by adhering to our four fundamental principles. These are:

1. Impartiality
2. Transparency
3. Honesty
4. Sustainability

 

I hope I have made myself clear. Stay well.

(*) You can find the links that provide sources for the data in the article below:

 

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/a-roadmap-to-reducing-food-waste

 

http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/en/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271441560_Yoksulluk_ve_Gida_Israfi_Sarmali_Poverty_and_Spiral_of_Food_Waste

http://foodsustainability.eiu.com/

Tag: lifestyle