Database reduces food waste

Around a third of the food produced for Swiss consumption is lost between the field and the plate: 20 percent in agricultural production, 30 percent in processing and retail, 50 percent in households and large-scale consumption1. The aid organization Schweizer Tafel has been collecting perfectly good surplus food for 15 years. Every day, it distributes 17.1 tons to social institutions - food that is mostly donated by retailers.

Food Bridge as a stock exchange

Schweizer Tafel initiated the "Food Bridge" to make better use of the existing potential of surplus but perfectly good food in processing and retail.Daniela Rondelli, Managing Director of Schweizer Tafel, says: "The aim of this donation database was to keep the process as simple as possible and to involve all interested companies in the food processing and retail sectors, as well as the buyers, in order to jointly contribute to reducing food waste."

The Food Bridge works like a stock exchange with little effort: offers are placed online and aid organizations are automatically informed. They collect the goods directly from the supplier and distribute them free of charge to people living in poverty.

Broad support in the food industry

The Food Bridge was realized thanks to start-up funding from the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG). It was programmed by SwissCenter. During the pilot project, the Swiss food bank received active support from numerous players in the food industry and food production. Fenaco, for example, has been on board since the beginning. Urs Vollmer, Head of Sustainability at Fenaco: "As part of its sustainability strategy, Fenaco is actively committed to avoiding food waste and therefore relies on the partnership with Schweizer Tafel. The Food Bridge donation database makes it much easier for everyone involved to record and evaluate the data, which saves time and also signals that the easiest way of disposal is not automatically the best."

Marc Wermelinger, Managing Director of the Swisscofel association, says: "Studies have found comparatively high losses, especially for perishable foods. Thanks to Food Bridge, organizations like the Swiss Food Bank can now provide more fruit and vegetables with minor defects to people living in poverty in Switzerland free of charge and at no great expense. This is a real win-win situation for everyone involved."

Food Bridge went online on October 21, 2016 and has been accessible to all food donors since then. Further funding is provided by the Schweizer Tafel.

More food for people in need

In Switzerland, 1.19 million people are at risk of or directly affected by poverty, which means that a single person has a maximum household income of CHF 2,200 and a family of four CHF 4,050. A wide variety of aid organizations contribute to supporting and accompanying people affected by poverty in their everyday lives - for example by distributing food to private individuals or social institutions. In 2013, the three largest food donation organizations in Switzerland alone - Schweizer Tafel, Tischlein deck dich and Caritas - distributed more than 12,000 tonnes of food or around 60,000,000 plates.

Daniela Rondelli, Managing Director of Schweizer Tafel: "In other countries - such as the USA and Canada - food databases have been around for a long time. Their success speaks for itself. Now Switzerland is following suit. We cannot close our eyes to poverty in Switzerland, it exists. We must therefore strive to use our resources more carefully and avoid food waste wherever possible. With this in mind, this donation database was long overdue and I am delighted that we have been able to implement the project in Switzerland."

Food Bridge is only aimed at professional providers and does not accept private donations. The database is suitable for donations of one pallet of goods or more.