In cooperation with the City of Amsterdam, Rabobank has launched an initiative called Boeren voor Buren. Boeren voor Buren offers structurally healthy and affordable potatoes, fruit & vegetables from farmers in the region to vulnerable households in the city, neighbours with a small wallet. From now on RAI Amsterdam is one of the four locations where the packages are put together and distributed in the city.
In the coming months, RAI Amsterdam will make a hall available two days a week for storing food, packing parcels and distributing parcels in the city. "We are happy to make our facilities available for this great initiative. RAI colleagues would also like to help as a volunteer in putting together the packages. We are pleased to be able to make the connection between the farmers and residents of the city of Amsterdam in times of corona"; according to RAI-director Maurits van der Sluis.
Eric Traa of Rabobank Amsterdam continues: It's great that an organisation like the RAI, which is in dire straits, is happy to work for Boeren voor Buren. Farmers in the region provide the right nutritional value and variety of food that is sustainable and close by. Every fortnight we sell a small or large shopper to neighbours with a small wallet. This shopper contains potatoes, vegetables and fruit. One can choose between a small size of 10kg or a large size of 16kg. Everybody brings his/her own bags, so we limit the packaging material and we burden the environment as little as possible with plastic. The contents of the shopper's bag largely meet the fruit and vegetable needs'.In addition, we contribute to an inclusive labour market by operating with a varied workforce within our organisation.
Boeren voor Buren
The initiative to connect Dutch farmers to the people of Amsterdam with a small wallet arose spontaneously as a result of an acute demand for help arising from the corona crisis. Boeren voor Buren now offers structurally healthy and affordable potatoes, fruit & vegetables from farmers in the region to vulnerable households in the city, neighbours with a small wallet. In Amsterdam the focus is on city pass holders with a green dot who have a limited income and assets.