Central Market of Thessaloniki S.A. (CMT)

The Central Market of Thessaloniki (CMT) is an SA with sole shareholder the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations S.A. (HCAP) and is supervised by the Ministry of Development & Investments.

CMT, since 1975, is located at the 7^th km of Thessaloniki – Athens highway, on a plot of 250 acres. Facilities include the Fruit and Vegetable Market (280 stores, distributed in 4 blocks of 70 stores each) the new Meat Market (24 stores) as well as administrative buildings. Estimated shipping volumes amount to 600-800 tones of fruit and vegetables and 80-100 tonnes of meat, while workers with visitors and vehicles are over 5.000 and 2.500 respectively, per day.

In the framework of the INTERREG V-A Greece-Bulgaria 2014-2020 programme, the two cooperating countries are implementing the project “Supporting Social Enterprises in Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion” (“Social Plate”). In April 2018, CMT established the “Social Food Aid Civic Non-Profit Company” with the distinctive title “Social Plate”. Aim of the project’s action is to combat poverty and social exclusion and to support social agencies with the same goals.

The idea for ‘Social Plate’ was developed by CMT (Central Market of Thessaloniki) S.A., as a contribution to the attempt to combat poverty and social exclusion and to the need to protect the environment. The goal of the programme is to provide food for weaker social groups, give work to the long-term unemployed and limit food waste. An integral part of the idea is to disseminate this solution to all social strata and gain their active participation in the attempt to change course and attitude in matters of food waste.

Every day, traders of the CMT deliver non-marketable fruits and vegetables to the “Social Plate” offices and products are separated to those that are suitable for consumption and to those that are not. Social agencies of the region receive the recovered products and distribute them, cooked or fresh, to vulnerable groups of our society. From the beginning of the action (April 23, 2018) until today (May 2021) the Social Plate has received more than 723 tons of fruits and vegetables and has offered more than 500 tons to more than 70 organizations in the Region. At Christmas 2017 & Christmas 2018, events were held in the city center where cooked food was offered from the recoverable food managed by our organization. The day-to-day activities of ‘Social Plate’ are presented in its website and social media accounts, https://www.socialplate.eu/el

CMT participates in an number of actions of LIFE-IP CEI-Greece (C – Concrete, D -–Monitoring the impact of the project, E – Awareness and Dissemination and F- Project Management and monitoring of the progress) with a key focus on Food Waste Prevention (Action C4) and sub-action C4.3 in particular, entitled “Excess food and food waste prevention demonstration actions”.