Picture by Babette Radclyffe-Thomas

Description

Currently based in Germany, this online community aims to address the huge amount of global food wastage. More than 1.3 billion tonnes of food is discarded annually, however foodsharing.de has already saved more than 4,500 kilos of food from the rubbish heap. On Christmas day alone, 55 baskets of food were offered to any takers in 25 German cities, and people could find them on the new Internet platform whose operators hope to radically change the way people think about food.

Those struggling to put food on the table gained access to a variety of foodstuffs for free and at the same time, less food was sent to landfill sites, where its decomposition would have produced toxic gases.

Aiming to put people with excess food in touch with those who need and want it, the website has a few general rules, such as setting the locations for food to be exchanged, and for no money to be used. It aims to “reinstate the spiritual, non-monetary value of food, because it is more than just a commodity”.

The basic concept, according to the website, is simple: People share food. No money is to be exchanged because food is considered more than just a commodity. Anything can be offered, and for users there is a search function to locate desired goods. This simple principle is also well received because it is totally free.

*Article sources: "German New Food-Sharing Site Hopes to Cut Wastage" & "Waste Not: Food Sharing in Germany"

Links and other sources

• Every German throws away over 80 kilograms of food on average per year, according to a study presented in Berlin on Tuesday. Germany's agriculture minister wants that amount reduced by half by 2025. Read the full article at Germany launches initiative to reduce food waste.