No summer break for the Gardens of the Mediterranean

Since 2008, the “Les Jardins de la Méditerranée-Imagine 84” Worksite Integration Workshop has been working to recover unsold products from the Fruits & Vegetables sector in order to redistribute them to beneficiaries of food aid.

 

The Workshop collects foodstuffs at all levels of the sector, from production to the central purchasing office. These products are then sorted and packaged by the team of around twenty employees, then shipped throughout France through the various charitable associations (Food Banks, Federations of Secours Populaire, Centrale des Restos du Cœur, French Red Cross, Revivre and independent associations).

 

 

Summer 2021

This year, 'Les Jardins de la Méditerranée-Imagine 84' Worksite Integration Workshop will remain operational all summer, even in August. This will allow new suppliers, the structure constantly looking for new partners in the sector, as well as regular suppliers to supply it with seasonal products and thus be able to redistribute a wide range of Fruits & Vegetables to associations. charities. Currently the structure processes zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, grapes, cabbages, carrots, endives, potatoes, apples, plums, melons and watermelons.

 

 

2020 figures

In 2020, the 'Les Jardins de la Méditerranée-Imagine 84' Worksite Integration Workshop succeeded in distributing 1,115 tonnes of products, after sorting and repackaging, to 55 charities in 45 departments.

 

In addition to the fight against food waste and supplying the national food aid network, the structure also has another social impact: support for professional integration. The Workplace Integration Workshop, as part of the IAE (Integration through Economic Activity), has enabled outings into employment or training for 69% of its employees.

 

 

A structure with growing influence

'Les Jardins de la Méditerranée-Imagine 84' Workplace Integration Workshop was created in 2008. The structure has been recognized as being of General Interest since 2009 and since 2016 authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture to receive public contributions intended for the distribution of food aid on the national territory.  The structure was awarded the "Best Practice for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals" certificate in 2019 at the European Commission's congress to recognise good practice in healthy and sustainable food systems.