Partners will work together on green economic recovery from the pandemic, improving regional practices in food waste management.

Kyiv, 26 May 2021 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine today announced the signing of an agreement with Tarilka, a non-governmental organization dedicated to combating food waste and to reducing poverty. The Memorandum of Understanding identifies a number of joint activities, including support for a green economic recovery from the pandemic, improving regional practices in food waste management and sharing expertise in the capacity building of local stakeholders.

UNDP Resident Representative Dafina Gercheva said the new agreement will deliver impactful and lasting benefits to Ukraine and the region, and is a perfect example of Sustainable Development Goal 17, which calls for strong and inclusive partnerships and cooperation for the achievement of the Global Goals.  “Tarilka’s deep knowledge and commitment to local communities, combined with UNDP’s global expertise and wide regional network make an ideal combination to upscale innovative approaches to advance Agenda 2030 and bring peace and prosperity to the people of Ukraine”, she said.

Tarilka NGO, best known as a food bank in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, was established in 2019 to support vulnerable social groups with food provision, especially those living below the poverty line..

Ivan Pavlish, Chairman of the Board at Tarilka NGO, said his organization has 40 members all of whom are volunteers and work without pay. “We all look forward to working in cooperation with UNDP,” he said, “on issues related to improving waste management, supporting greater inclusion, and advancing the sustainable development of our cities and communities.”

The cooperation between UNDP and Tarilka NGO started with the Biomimicry Design Challenge – an all-Ukrainian competition to find ideas inspired by natural systems and organisms that solve the waste problem. The MOU, signed on 6 May, is non-exclusive and has an initial term of two years.

For more information

UNDP: Yulia Sumus at yulia.samus@undp.org  

Tarilka NGO:  Khrystyna Bakhurska at tarilka.org@gmail.com