Skraldecaféen
Fighting Food Waste and Hunger in Denmark
– Carly Brister, Haris Toogo, Franziska Gömmel, Shuyi Zhao –
At first glance, Skraldecaféen – which translates to “Trash Café,” just looks like a tent near the Bay of Aarhus, Denmark. Yet, when you take a look behind the construction fence, you will find a place of community, service, and humanity. Skraldecaféen is a gem in the heart of Aarhus, on a mission to feed the hungry with recycled food that would otherwise have been wasted.
Every day, including weekends and holidays, volunteers at Skraldecaféen are hard at work; cooking food, managing deliveries, and creating a safe space for people to meet and eat.
Origin Story
ANNBRITT JØRGENSEN - FOUNDER
Annbritt started her journey fighting food waste with dumpster-diving. She found that there was an abundance of usable food, and wanted to share with other people who might need it. However, authorities informed her that this was illegal in Denmark.
“They tell me, “if you cook together with people, then you can do it.”
Yet, she wanted Skraldecaféen to be more than a place where food is given to people. She had a vision of a community centered around cooking together and sharing their food with anyone who may need it.
Food Distribution
After lunch, the volunteers at Skraldecaféen give out tickets for the food distribution that takes place daily. Beginning at 14:00, each household is welcome to take one basket of groceries for free.
The vegetables, fruit, breads, and other goods are donations from supermarkets – food they did not shelve and would otherwise throw away. Excess food that the volunteers do not use to cook is then available to take. This way, Skraldecaféen recycles their already-recycled food and ensures that their guests have something to eat for later.
Food Waste
Although food waste in Denmark has been decreasing for several years, 700,000 tons of food are still thrown away annually according to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. Lots of food waste originates from private households, but the food industry itself is also wasting tons of food every year.
Stock management issues, high standards of quality, overproduction, or production and packaging damage provide some context to these figures. The certification center Refood states that this behavior leads to a cost of 13.5 billion Danish kroner per year.
At the same time, Denmark is currently the EU-leader in reducing food waste according to the Danish Agriculture & Food Council.
In the year 2050, the world’s population will reach nine billion people – by then, world food production must increase by 70% to meet the need. Reduction of food waste, food loss, and utilization of food produced are therefore key priorities to ensure a better future.
According to the Ministry of the Environment and Food, Danes have reduced food waste by 14,000 tonnes from 2011 to 2017. Danes who live in apartment buildings have reduced food waste by 24% per person, while food waste in single-family houses, on the other hand, is unchanged. Overall, Danish households have reduced food waste by 8% per person over the past six years. All Danish households had a food waste of 261,000 tonnes in 2011/2012 – and this has fallen to 247,000 tonnes in 2017. In other words, we are on the right track.
Skraldecaféen has not only saved countless food items from being wasted, they also opened a place for people in need of a meal and a community. In doing so, Skraldecaféen has managed to address two great socio-economic issues present in Denmark and worldwide.
Visit Skraldecaféen
Address
Jægergårdsgade 168, 8000 Aarhus
Phone
28 94 60 05
If you would like to learn more about Skraldecaféen, visit their website below: