... they donate bread almost every day to people who are homeless.
At iambe on Van Ostadestraat, they make organic bread as well as pastries with care. The bread is made with a slow rising process and baked early the next morning. It is then sent crispy fresh to the store on the nearby Van der Helstplein. Many local residents embrace the sympathetic day care project for people distanced from the labor market. They enjoy having a cup of coffee and buying the tasty products. Yet every day something is left over. Marcel Stoof, workshop supervisor and until recently also working in the store, estimates it at ten percent: "That is the contents of a large bag, a shame to throw away. Waste does not fit with the way we run as an anthroposophical bakery. What remains we therefore give away to people with whom we have warm ties. This is what iambe has been doing from the beginning, some sixteen years now. Our customers, often with green and conscious lifestyles, like to hear that nothing ends up in the garbage."
Sourdough and sweet buns
The breads and other leftover salads go to our Oud-West and Makom walk-in centres every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday after hours. Marcel expresses enthusiasm about this: "We have to care for others. I also wish my fellow human beings, homeless people who have little to spend, good products. The reactions of visitors to the walk-in centres are mostly positive. We make our bread mainly from sourdough, which of course is not everyone's taste, so there is also grumbling from time to time." Smiling, he concludes, "You understand that the plain and chocolate croissants, the cheese sticks and the tomato feta rolls are favorites. Those are received with the most enthusiasm."
Text: Iris Stam | Photography:privately owned Marcel