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Soil to Plate Agricultural Development Cooperative

Soil to Plate Agricultural Development Cooperative

Soil to Plate, Turkey's first social cooperative, implemented many projects, primarily reviving Sorgül wheat, and continued its efforts to support small farmers and producers in the region, especially during the pandemic, to develop the local economy. The cooperative, with its e-commerce site, 5 different businesses, and nearly 50 employees, delivered products from more than 170 local farmers across Turkey. The principles and management approach of the social cooperative, highlighting volunteerism and the culture of collective work, contributed to Heart Kitchen's transparent, audited, and secure structure.

Soil to Plate Agricultural Development Cooperative was established with the understanding of professional community volunteering. In this structure, where partners declared by a written contract that they would not receive any profit shares from the cooperative, the income generated was transformed into investment and employment, aiming to include more people in the workforce. The main point that distinguishes social cooperatives from other types of cooperatives is that they primarily aim for "public benefit." The purpose of every product and/or service they produce must be for public benefit. With these characteristics, Soil to Plate quickly adapted to meet the needs that arose in the kitchen in the earthquake zone.

From the first day, the cooperative delivered product supports purchased from the "Earthquake Aid" category on its website to the kitchens in a way that also supported local producers and suppliers in the earthquake zone. The cooperative accepted individual and institutional support at every stage, from food to kitchen utensils, from meal preparation to distribution.

What is a Social Cooperative? Social cooperatives are organizations governed by the Turkish Commercial Code that directly operate for public benefit to reduce or address needs in areas like health, education, employment, and environment, where the public and private sectors alone are insufficient. They are cooperatives that produce goods and services for the common good, employ disadvantaged groups, and reinvest their income into improving their activities or distribute it limitedly among their partners.

What is Social Cooperative?

Social cooperatives are organizations governed by the Turkish Commercial Code that directly operate for public benefit to reduce or address needs in areas like health, education, employment, and environment, where the public and private sectors alone are insufficient. They are cooperatives that produce goods and services for the common good, employ disadvantaged groups, and reinvest their income into improving their activities or distribute it limitedly among their partners.

Social cooperatives operate as a social entrepreneurship model to address unemployment, strengthen local governance, ensure social justice, and create sustainable solutions in disaster management, supporting local development in the regions where they are established. By reinvesting profits, they create new job opportunities and improve individuals' livelihoods, enhancing their welfare.

They operate with a human-centered structure, volunteer participation and solidarity philosophy, a culture of collective work (imece), and principles of social transformation.

Soil to Plate Agricultural Development Cooperative also aimed to support sustainable agriculture, the participation of disadvantaged community members in production and social life, and the strengthening of local and sustainable development by supporting local producers and products.

Managed with an understanding of professional community volunteering and strategic planning, the cooperative's partners worked completely voluntarily without receiving any profit shares, ensured by a written contract. The income generated was aimed to be transformed into investment and employment, including more people in the workforce.

Soil to Plate Agricultural Development Cooperative is affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey, is transparent, pays its taxes, and is regularly audited by the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Treasury and Finance, and Provincial Directorate of Commerce

Established in İskenderun after the earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2023, and deeply affected 10 of our provinces, "Heart Kitchen," founded by Chef Ebru Baybara Demir and Chef Türev Uludağ, became part of the struggle against the economic, social, and cultural destruction caused by the earthquake

Today, with 150 volunteers, Heart Kitchen delivers over 200,000 meals daily to 20 locations across Hatay, with every task carried out completely voluntarily and through the sharing of work. This is where the name Heart Kitchen comes from. Volunteers from many parts of Turkey and the world continued to come to the kitchen in İskenderun, setting aside their identities, statuses, and other roles to be a part of the collective effort culture without expecting anything in return.

Soil to Plate Agricultural Development Cooperative also played an important role in establishing the system in İskenderun, providing product and logistics support, and maintaining communication with sponsors, institutions, and organizations, as part of this culture of collective effort.

One of the first examples of social cooperatives in Turkey working to create sustainable solutions in disaster management, Soil to Plate Agricultural Development Cooperative, ensured the sustainability of the food stock from the first day by delivering products from the "earthquake aid" section on its website to the kitchen in a way that also supported local suppliers. By employing people from the region who lost their loved ones, homes, and jobs in the earthquake in "Heart Kitchen," it provided both economic and social support.

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