SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 31 Fruit, cakes, cold cuts and salads ready for packing 4-7 volunteers help Jørgen Mathiesen pack the week’s leftovers from the Grundfos canteen in Bjerringbro every Friday. Foto: Morten Dueholm/Scanpix It all began in the spring of 2016 when we learned about Jørgen Mathiesen and his efforts to minimise food waste while helping vulnerable people in the local community. The recipients come from all backgrounds and may be singles, vulnerable families, refugees, or may have mental health or substance abuse issues. “We all want the best out of life, but life is not always fair and some people are not able to cope. Every day, I meet people who have to pick food from garbage containers, steal or even starve. They have to compromise their own health and well-being, losing their dignity and self-respect,” Jørgen says. At that time, Jørgen was using his private car to distribute leftover bread from a local bakery, and trying to figure out what it would take to get access to surplus food from canteens and industrial kitchens. “The challenge was to make sure the food would keep fresh during transportation. At first I thought a cooling trailer was the appropriate solution, but then we had to rely on peoples’ own cars having a trailer hook, so a van would be a better option. And rightly so – I don’t have to be available every single Friday anymore,” he says. Win-win solution Jørgen has been collecting surplus food from the Grundfos canteen in Bjerringbro every Friday since 19 August 2016, bringing it to a long list of recipients. Jakob Olesen, who heads up the canteen, is happy with the arrangement. He has been working systematically since 2014 to minimise food waste. ”We cook for approximately 2000 people every day Monday through Friday. And even though we have been able to conserve and reuse our leftovers during the week, there are just some things that can’t be frozen or kept till Monday. But it’s perfectly good for eating when we pass it on to Del Maden on Friday,” says Jakob Olesen. Approximately 60 kg, or 90 meals, are donated every Friday instead of becoming biofuel. Grundfos volunteers pack meals every Friday At the Foundation, Anne Bisgaard Christensen runs the administration of the volunteers and is noticing a slow, but steady growth among the people who sign up. ”My impression is that the volunteers really enjoy being able to help others this way. I’m very conscious that they know precisely what is expected from them, and I take their feedback very seriously. We did experience a few logistical hiccups in the beginning, but we’ve adjusted the concept a couple of times to address it. When we say it takes half an hour, we intend to keep that promise,” she says. Inspired by the way the LEGO Foundation enlists their pensioners to pack Christmas gifts; the Foundation is now also trying to reach out to Grundfos retirees in Bjerringbro who might want to help out in the future. Watch: Grundfos’ surplus food helps those in need https://vimeo.com/192589753 (in Danish)
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