Foodsharing. The story how I didn't spend one euro on bananas in last 10 months

The excuse that we do not know what to do with the food we want to get rid of, is not up to date anymore. I'd like to describe the Foodsharing movement, in which I am also involved.

Before I started my EVS in Berlin, I only heard about platforms that saves and distributes food for individuals. In Poland where I come from, is not that easy to distribute food. According to the precedents known, the taxpayer would assume that the recipients of products "had a certain amount of value for the products transferred" and could receive taxpayer money from the receivers - in this way from 8 to 23%. In Germany and Austria and I guess in other western European countries, too, it is more human.

However, there aren't so much poor people involved. Those who are involved the most are social workers, activists, ecologists and people who believed in sustainability. It's not that they feel hungry. They just do not want food to be wasted. Foodsharing is also popular in the aid organizations that run social canteens, they have access to the Internet and are eager to use it. Poor people are at the end of the road, which is picking up the products from delivery centers. One of them is my organization – Kulturlabor Trial&Error e. V.

The foodsharing.de site may be used by locals or shops to expose surplus or unnecessary food products. In contrast to dumpster diving, foodsharing wants to prevent food from being thrown away in the first place. Whoever is willing, can register and pick up the food - uncomplicated, fast and for free.

What do you have to do if you'd like to be part of Foodsharing community? First you have to have a “trial picking food” with someone who is already a foodsaver. I had to do it twice with a colleague from my organization. It was an opportunity to get acquainted with the people from the group who are picking fruits and vegetables from one of the wholesale stores on Neukoelln. Every Tuesday about 8-9 people who have been registered, come to the place and start ordering products. This is not a clean job. The rotten oranges are mixed with good bananas, and between them are plastic boxes of appetizing raspberries. However, if you have gloves and 8 pairs of fast hands to help, after 20 minutes all cartons are disposed and ready to be taken.

Most people in my group take vegetables and fruits for themselves and their roommates. In case of my organization, products are passed on as we are a delivery-point (Fair-teiler) of Foodsharing. Every Tuesday after 20.00 everyone is welcome to come, bring empty bags and pick up the food. If someone has food to share, they can also bring it and share at our place.

There are currently about 12,000 stores and private individuals on the portal foodsharing.de. It is easy to say that all economy is about selling products rather than distributing them. But my task and I guess everyone involved in Foodsharing movement is to take care of the planet. As a minimum this means, not to spoil it and not to throw away what has been produced with great sacrifice. It is how I and my colleagues from organization understand the participation in Foodsharing.