Estonian Food Bank is a non-governmental organization collecting food from producers/distributors and handing it out to people in need. The Estonian Food Bank helps, first and foremost, those who are not able to help themselves - families in difficult economic circumstances, the unemployed, families with many and/or small children. Donators provide food free of charge, but people, organisations or charities can also donate money. Estonian Food Bank operates with the help of a network of local charities and social organisations who are in direct contact with the people who need the food most. The work of the food bank relies greatly on the generosity of volunteers, who are active in the warehouse and at the office of the organisation and are taking care of the whole process of collecting, storing, packing and distributing the food.
The first Estonian Food Bank started working in Tallinn in March 2010. The idea of the project was born two years earlier - during the period of great economic recession and the rise in poverty/unemployment rates in Estonia.
Link to H2020 SI Priorities
Strategic intelligence and citizens’ participation
Resource efficient sustainable lifestyles
Raw materials conscious sustainable lifestyle
SI Type
Social (incl. behavioural) - The innovation depends on donations and the work of volunteers who help to provide for people in need.
Service / Process - Estonian Food Bank is offering an innovative service, which meets a social need by redistributing quality food and fighting food scarcity.
SI Objectives
Creating solidarity between human beings and responsibility for the weakest.
Fighting the waste of food, sharing food with those in need.
Fighting exclusion and poverty.
Promoting healthier lifestyles.
Helping, first and foremost, families with small and/or many children, who are living below the subsistence level.
SI Origin
Estonian Food Bank was established by the Estonian Netherlands Charity Foundation or Sunflower Foundation and Swedbank. It is supported by the Open Estonia Foundation, as well as many other governmental and non-governmental organisations in Estonia. According to the standards of good practice in European food banks, about 90% of the necessary work and activities are carried out by volunteers. The aim of the organisation is to share food with people who need it most - edible food that otherwise would have been thrown away. It is weekly distributed to approximately 1,800 families with the help of over 100 volunteers. Besides Tallinn, food is also distributed in the towns of Tartu, Narva, Jõhvi, Rakvere, Viljandi, Valga, Pärnu, Põlva, Haapsalu, Paide, Türi, Kuressaare and Võru. The main sources of funding for the food bank are companies and private donators, who provide food either for charity reasons or because they have leftover food that is difficult to sell or is close to expiry.
SI Factors of success
Economic - Redistributing free food without compromising on quality.
Environmental - Contributing to resource efficiency and countering excessive production, as well as waste.
Social - Fighting exclusion and poverty, promoting citizen participation and community involvement, promoting healthier lifestyles.
Ethical - Reciprocity and redistribution of leftover high-quality food for the ones in need. Fighting the over-production of food.
Sources
Primary - The main bulk of primary data consists of information distributed directly by the stakeholders of the food bank, representing general practices of the whole organisation (including the description of the outcomes of their activities and the list of organisational partners):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1b_UwabqRM
http://www.wfuel.info/inc_ee/files/files/Toidupank.pdf
http://foodweb.ut.ee/s2/109_185_70_How_much_food_goes_to_waste.pdf
http://www.toidupank.ee/?lang=en
http://www.toidupank.ee/sponsors-and-supporters/
http://www.estyes.ee/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Estonian-Food-Bank.pdf
http://www.eurofoodbank.eu/portail/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=1&Itemid=2&lang=en
Additional important primary data will be relatively easy to access through interviews with the stakeholders.
Secondary - Many sources describing the implementation and diffusion of the SI case, as well as providing a social commentary, are available through different media channels:
http://www.euroviews.eu/2012/?p=3723
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/markets_and_companies/?doc=52240
http://news.err.ee/v/society/efab2b3e-0949-4fc9-a6b2-700d6a414b87
http://news.err.ee/v/economy/a06ce35e-1d0e-45d1-9631-a3738ad966c3
http://news.err.ee/v/society/e430f6ff-a55a-407c-9ff6-e5a94561bbf1
http://news.err.ee/v/society/0985a1a4-b58b-4017-b3ef-851d7a9593a3
http://www.vabaeestisona.com/index.php/news-in-english/911-estonian-food-bank-expands-.html
These media resources provide us with evidence of Estonian society's interest in the development and operation of the food bank. Furthermore, they highlight existing positive attitudes regarding the described practices and outcomes of the organisation's activities. These attitudes of appreciation can also be strongly associated with the different players involved in the organisation.
Information on Estonian Food Bank's partnership with other players/organisations can be found on their websites:
http://www.continuousaction.ee/?mid=133
http://apilv.ee/en/2013/01/aivar-pilv-law-office-participated-in-estonian-food-banks-information-day-in-tallinn-and-tartu/
https://www.armastanaidata.ee/en/donation/health-and-welfare/food-bank-your-donation-helps-provide-food-aid-to-the-poorest-families/reward_points
http://www.paikeselill.ee/index.php?id=10324
http://www.eurofoodbank.eu/portail/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=7&Itemid=26&lang=en
https://www.facebook.com/eGovAcademy/posts/768471926521963
http://europa.eu/youth/vp/organisation/28000312361_lv
http://www.swedbank.com/corporate-sustainability/community-involvement/estonia/index.htm
http://www.wastedfood.com/2013/01/30/visiting-food-bank-estonia/
Please note: in some of these recorded cases the incolvement of Estonian Food Bank could be considered as an act of advertisement, since the involvement in its activities can be seen as a plus for any company's social awareness/responsibility strategy.
Tertiary - An interesting scientific, but sadly not generally accessible resource, which includes first-hand information and opinions from the organisational leader of the Estonian food bank:
https://books.google.ee/books?id=INKEBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA148&lpg=PA148&dq=estonian+food+bank&source=bl&ots=chfiXBqadO&sig=MNuB_SoHrAyzwf2cxiy8iBmqQsw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UCW2VOHwAuWgyAOb54C4Dg&ved=0CGwQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=estonian%20food%20bank&f=false
Another example of Estonian Food Bank's impact can be obserevd in this World Health Organization's Estonian report (page 33):
http://ee.euro.who.int/Dietary%20habits%20of%20adolescents.pdf
