Foodsharing activist Kimberley sorting through the lettuce at a market stall in central Mainz. Photos: Peter Zschunke/dpa
The heads of lettuce on offer on the market stalls in central Mainz are visibly wilting in the searing heat.
That's when the Foodsharing team steps in to help. The 20 fruit and vegetable vendors who set up the market each week in the shadow of the city cathedral are now used to the volunteers coming round and asking everyone if there is any food they can pick up.
Fruit seller Christine Kaiser hands Carina and Paul a box of limes, kiwis and oranges.
"We're selling organic food but it needs to look good", as that's what customers want, the seller explains upon giving away the produce.
Items that are blemished are harder to sell. It's a relief to be able to pass on any of the items that can't be sold on to volunteers, safe in the knowledge the food won't go to waste, she says.
Foodsharing volunteer Paul picking up grapes from a market stall in Mainz.
"I have a good feeling when I can help and when the things don't end up in the rubbish."
The Foodsharing volunteers pick up any food that would otherwise be thrown away and distribute it amongst themselves and others, from neighbours to community projects, with the aim of reducing waste and helping people value food more, says Dorothee Stauche, an ambassador for the group in one of the western German city's five districts.
"When we approach supermarkets or businesses like a bakery, we first ask if they are also listed for the food bank."
The Foodsharing team wants to make sure the other groups have first refusal, and that any food volunteers take for reuse isn't being denied to organisations that help those who are in need.
The Foodsharing organisation was set up in 2012 and now extends throughout Germany and Austria. The same principles apply from Berlin to Vienna: volunteers work with the local authorities and make sure to follow hygiene regulations that govern the handling of food, Strauche says.
A bicycle trailer filled with fruit and veggies picked up by the Foodsharing volunteers.
In contrast to dumpster diving, which is about taking non-spoiled food from waste containers, the group wants to prevent food from being thrown away in the first place, the organisation says.
There are 32 local Foodsharing groups throughout the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, all organising their activities independently. They mostly coordinate online to organise pick-ups or deliveries at short notice.
The Mainz team's work reaches about 5,000 people, according to Strauche.
"Every day we collect a tonne of food," she says, from 110 supermarkets, businesses or restaurants across town. The city has even become an official backer of Foodsharing, to do something concrete to slash waste. Officials coordinated with the administrators of weekly food markets to encourage people to take part.
Paul, one of the three volunteers at the Mainz market, checks out a box of grapes to make sure they aren't going mouldy, after a seller said they could take anything in the boxes near the stand.
Carina packs the box while Kimberley strips off the lettuce's tired outer leaves to rescue the heart which still looks fresh and crunchy. The rhubarb and cauliflower are also still in good shape.
From veggies to bread, one third of all produced food in Germany is thrown away, according to the Foodsharing organisation.
It's all helping the circular economy, according to organic farmer Elke Korte, who comes from Diez an der Lahn, a village north of the city.
Whatever she can't give to the volunteers, she brings back to her farm to feed to her hens or put it on the compost heap.
The main thing is to reduce waste, she says, adding that more needs to be done.
Foodsharing alone cannot go far enough, she says, adding that sometimes, she wishes people would stop by at her farm to see what work is like out in the fields, to understand the problem better.
Laden with the grapes, rhubarb and other fruit and veggies, the Foodsharing volunteers gather by the cathedral to divide up their spoils among them for distribution.
Everything they cannot consume themselves they will distribute among others, from neighbours to community projects.
Kimberley carefully shares out the food, even finding someone willing to take a rather sad-looking artichoke. Paul takes most of the lettuce as his neighbourhood is home to a Brunch for All initiative.
If the team winds up with a large amount of food, they take it to a designated city pantry where people can help themselves to whatever they need.
Today, though, Stauche sees online that the pantry is packed and has even issued a call-out, "Come by and save the fruit from the heat!"
The Mainz team also has a long-term plan to crowdfund a foodsharing cafe offering an educational and cultural programme.
After all, the city has an abundance of food.
Strauche says her team had a major pick-up the other day, saving 40 crates of beer from going to waste. They dropped them off at the pantry.
"They were gone pretty fast." – dpa
