Saving food and "fair sharing"

Maren Troschke & Kristina Buhl

The international foodsharing movement is committed to rescuing overproduced food. The actors get involved whenever supermarkets, bakeries and other retailers have leftover food that can no longer be sold. "But they are still edible," reveals Maren Troschke. She is one of the founders of the initiative in Chemnitz. Together with Kristina Buhl and other fellow campaigners, she saves food from the rubbish bin and redistributes it. It's a natural part of their lives. In this interview, they both explain why they are so committed to this cause.

The food sharing initiative has been running in Chemnitz since 2014. How did you come up with the idea of starting something like this here?
Maren Troschke: I found out about it on the internet. The initiative started in Berlin in 2012. To be honest, I didn't give it much thought. I've been a food saver for many years. And that was still missing in Chemnitz, a city with a lot of people and enough supermarkets that throw away food.

How did the realisation start?
Maren Troschke: I registered on the website www.foodsharing.de and got in touch with other Chemnitz residents who are also food savers. After an initial meeting, it took a while before we were able to get started. There were simply not enough supporters. Almost 300 people from Chemnitz and the surrounding area are now registered on the website.

How can people get involved?
Kristina Buhl: You can actively support the food sharing initiative by registering on the website. Participation is completely free of charge. We are five ambassadors in Chemnitz who you can get in touch with, arrange sample collections and get the rules explained to you.

The food savers regularly collect food from supermarkets and businesses that work with them and distribute it to people who also see themselves as food savers.

How many businesses co-operate with you?
Maren Troschke: We currently receive food from eleven businesses in the city.
Kristina Buhl : Interested parties are of course welcome to contact us at any time and we will then enter into cooperation talks. These can also be restaurants, canteens or bakeries. Some grocery shops say they don't give out food because they are unclear about the legal status of donated food.
Maren Troschke: They are worried that they will get into trouble with the tax office because they give out food free of charge. But as an organisation, we can issue donation receipts, so I don't think their concerns are justified.
Kristina Buhl: The food sharing initiative now has rules that you have to adhere to in order to avoid problems. We clarify everything in a co-operation meeting with the respective business.

In addition to the direct distribution of food by the food savers to like-minded people, there are also six so-called fair-sharing centres in Chemnitz. These are places where the Foodsavers have set up a shelf, a fridge or even an old telephone box so that private individuals can offer food to take away.

Where are the fair-sharing centres located?
Maren Troschke: On Peterstraße on Sonnenberg, on Dresdner Straße near the Technical Town Hall, at the Alternative Youth Centre (AJZ), near the university on Vettersstraße 52, at the DOMIZIL on Leipziger Straße and at the Jugendberufshilfe Chemnitz gGmbH Dock 28 on Faleska-Meinig-Straße. However, the latter cannot currently be filled with food.

Are more Fair-Teiler planned?
Kristina Buhl: We are constantly growing. If we need more Fair-Teilers, we will consider adding more locations. It is important that they can also be supervised. For example, we have to regularly check that they are clean and that there is no food that has gone bad in them.

How are they stocked?
Kristina Buhl: Anyone can fill them with the food they don't need.

Bananas with brown spots, baked goods from the day before, yoghurt that is just past its best-before date or a bag of apples that has rotted. All this and much more ends up in the bin. An absurdity for the food savers. "Food sharing is an attitude that makes people start to value food again," explains Kristina Buhl. From an ecological point of view, this behaviour is exemplary. All food consumes valuable resources for cultivation, production or transport. These should also be used to protect the environment and reduce waste at the same time.

What can be put in the Fair Dividers?
Maren Troschke: The Fair Dividers are mainly for food. And you can put anything in them that has a best-before date. Of course, the products can also be over the best-before date. However, they must still be edible. Raw meat and raw egg products should not be placed in the Fair Dividers.

How do you determine for yourself when it is edible or not? Do you have any tips for anyone who is unsure?
Maren Troschke: Just trust your senses.
Kristina Buhl: That's what I wanted to advise.
Maren Troschke: You shouldn't put food in the Fair Dividers that you wouldn't eat yourself. But you don't have to be overly cautious either. For example, with fruit and vegetables: you wash them or cook them.

What has been the response to the food sharing initiative from the people of Chemnitz?
Kristina Buhl: Older people in particular think it's great that food is being valued more again. And the Fair-Teiler are very well received. We tend to have the problem that people get in touch and think it's always empty.
Maren Troschke: Especially over Christmas, when Tafel Chemnitz e. V. wasn't open.

But you're not in competition with Tafel?
Maren Troschke: No. The Tafel only collects food before the best-before date. We would like to pick up the food that the Tafel doesn't need. But that hasn't materialised yet.
Kristina Buhl: It is important to mention once again that food sharing is not just for the needy. It's about ensuring that food doesn't end up in the bin.

Has hygiene become more difficult in times of the coronavirus pandemic?
Maren Troschke: Not so much the hygiene, but the distancing rules when collecting the food are causing problems. We are only allowed to collect the food in pairs or alone. Sometimes it was too much for us to carry.
Kristina Buhl: These rules have now been softened for food sharing. We save food and, as you know, there are more people in the supermarket. What we do: Keeping our distance, wearing masks and gloves.
Maren Troschke : And cleaning the fair dividers is an important point. It should be done once a week. At least look inside to see if everything is in order and wipe through. It would be nice if more helping hands were involved.
Kristina Buhl: We do it all on a voluntary basis and it's difficult to manage on our own. But we are responsible for the fair dividers and often check on them.

How much time does this voluntary work take?
Maren Troschke: Depending on how much time you sacrifice.
Kristina Buhl: Maren and I are two of five ambassadors in the city. In addition to the cooperation talks with interested companies, we also do the public relations work. So that does take up a bit of time. But you can't say that in hours.

How many people are actively involved in food sharing in the city?
Kristina Buhl: Around 340 people are registered via www.foodsharing.de. Around 60 of them are very active. But we can't say how many people make use of the fair dividers.

Do you still have goals for the food sharing initiative in Chemnitz?
Kristina Buhl: Our primary goal is to ensure that no food is thrown away. And that requires a little more than just setting up fair-trade food sharing centres. There are already food sharing cities across Germany. This means that they are supported by the public sector with the aim of fighting food waste together and not leaving it solely to the citizens. That's what we would like to see.
Maren Troschke: It is also important that the topic is integrated into education, with talks in schools or information stands on the street to educate people.
Kristina Buhl: But we need support for this. We are not yet as visible as we would like to be. People need to know that the food sharing initiative exists.