German charity organisation 'Tafel' has launched a new project, 'Tafel macht Zukunft– gemeinsam digital' (Tafel creates the future – together digital) in order to further reduce food waste throughout Germany.
The new project is supported by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and aims at simplifying the food recovery process.
Eco Platform
The project includes the development of a so–called 'eco platform' for better networking between Tafel, the trade and manufacturers. With this in mind, pilot projects have been launched to test how food delivery from donors to organisations can be digitalised in the future.
Germans dispose of 18 million tonnes of groceries annually while 14 million people are living below the poverty line. Through its network, Tafel saves 264,000 tonnes of food each year and pass it on to people in need.
"With its volunteers and helpers, Tafel has earned great merit throughout Germany in the rescue and distribution of valuable food", said Julia Klöckner, the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture. "The goal of the new project is to create a digital food distribution platform to better network the work of donors and recipients."
UN Goal
The United Nations is aiming to cut the amount of food waste by half by 2030.
"We believe that Germany is quickly adopting measures to reach the UN's goal," commented Jochen Brühl, the chairman of Tafel Deutschland e.V. "With our extensive experience from over 25 years of food rescue, we want to [...] support this process with a positive digitalisation project."
Cooperation between the trade and Tafel has been growing during the last 26 years, and today, almost all supermarkets, discounters and wholesale stores donate food to the food banks.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Jana Zimmermann. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
