International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) recently announced a new program to aid the growing number of Greek families in search of work and opportunities in agriculture-related businesses.

With support from The Jaharis Family Foundation, Inc., the organization will offer 25 agriculture cooperatives in Greece support in food production, standardization of farming practices, warehousing facilities, sales and member training.

In return for their participation in the program, farmers will donate a portion of the food they produce to people in need in their communities, especially children facing malnutrition as a result of the economic crisis in Greece.

According to UNICEF figures, more than 300,000 children in Greece now live in families that cannot afford to provide a healthy diet including meat or fish, while one in four children live in poverty.

“The numbers are shocking and the impact on hard-working people faced with such prolonged unemployment is having deeply felt social, economic and psychological effects on families,” said Constantine Triantafilou, IOCC executive director.

For the past three years, Triantafilou has been coordinating relief efforts with Apostoli, the social service agency of the Church of Greece.