Bringing Unsellable Vegetables to Families in Need

We just wanted to show you the journey of our "Tomato Express" tomatoes (but it could also be an aubergine, a pepper, or a cucumber).

First of all, they grow in one of Ierapetra's many greenhouses, and once the time is right, they are picked up and divided into categories. Ours are the "non-perfect ones": too big, too small, a small spot here, not asymmetrical, etc.

From the greenhouses, they are taken to one of several auction houses where they are collected together with tonnes of other vegetables. A daily auction decides the price of the tomatoes according to the demand and offer. The vegetables sold are then shipped to mostly northern European countries.

"Tomato Express" is gifted the unsold ones. Don't forget they come from the same plant and are as good as the ones which end up in the supermarkets all over Europe. The quality is absolutely the same; the only differences are aesthetics.

We collect and ship them either to other parts of Crete or more often to Athens, where our partners, like Lionel, pick up the boxes and deliver them to other organisations, churches and solidarity pantries, from where they are distributed to families and communities in need. 

Imagine the impact on the families and institutions receiving fresh produce they cannot afford. Imagine that tonnes of wasted vegetables normally thrown away and polluting the environment are put to good use. Imagine the pride of farmers knowing that their hard work and investment is not ending up in landfills but on people's tables. That's "Tomato Express"

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