‘I am Ilaria and I am from Italy. Since the beginning of 2021, I am living and working in Rotterdam. I was volunteering in a garden with Groengoed and they told me about GZG. I thought that was a great opportunity to meet new people, try to contribute to the fight against food waste, and to be an active, caring, and involved citizen.

I think that volunteering is a great opportunity to be an active citizen. I am also volunteering in a swimming pool with children with disabilities. I try to live as much as possible the life in the city where I live, as meetings or events, and I try to be update about what it is happening in the world.

“I think GzG it is a great way to create something new and different in the city”

I do not have a specific role in GZG but mostly I help with the cleaning and sometimes with the cooking. I just really love cooking and I believe that cooking for someone else is a way to show him love and care. I love cooking for my friends and I always try something new and different for them because I think that it is a great way to express that I care about them. I also like the creative part in cooking and the fact that it is a concrete activity. I remember that when I was studying philosophy, I always enjoyed cooking because it was something real, something where I could see the final product and actually create something.

I think GzG it is a great way to sensitize people about food waste and to create something new and different in the city. Indeed, the fact that every Wednesday we are cooking can show that it is possible to have a different relationship with food and to reuse something that otherwise was wasted.

I love volunteering here. I am meeting always new people and there is always a good vibe. You can really feel that people are there because they believe in what they are doing and they are always trying to improve. It is a very stimulating place.’