Wiener Tafel - initiative against the throw away society

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Wiener Tafel - initiative against the throwaway society

The initiative ’Wiener Tafel’ saves up to three tons of food per day from being thrown away. At the same time Wiener Tafel supplies 18.000 people living in poverty through 104 social welfare facilities in the wider area of Vienna. The initiative gets valuable food donations from around 180 goods donors out of trade, industry and agriculture sector. More than 400 voluntary workers support Wiener Tafel and deliver the goods to impoverished women’s shelters, mother-child residential homes, homeless car facilities and refugee homes. Wiener Tafel helps to protect the environment, is economizing and avoids mountains of waste. Due to these actions social services providers are able to arrange a more varying and healthy food offer for the less fortunate.

http://www.wienertafel.at/

Related sector

I - Accommodation and food service activities
Q - Human health and social work activities

SI Lead organisation

Wr. Tafel – Der Verein für sozialen Transfer - Non-State actor ( Non-governmental, not for profit, organisations (NGO) )

No seperate URL

SI Scope

Local: Vienna, however, there exists ’tafeln’ in other parts of Austria too. (Austria)

SI Process

Sustainable Innovation conception/design

Start Date: September 1999 End Date: N/A

Date range justification

In 1998 the concept for the initiative was developed. In 1999 four students of the social academy founded Wiener Tafel, as the first ’Tafel’ in Austria based on the Concept of the New York ’City harvest’. In 2001 ’Wiener Tafel’ had the possibility to appear on TV, which found them sponsors for ther first ’Wiener Tafel Van’. In 2005 the first refrigerated car followed and in 2006 the continuous expansion made it necessary to even arrange further vehicles. In 2006 the first logistics employees were hired. Between 2008 and 2009 the initiative won three prices. Nowadays the Austrian social environment cannot be imagined without Wiener Tafel.

Link to H2020 SI Priorities

Strategic intelligence and citizens’ participation
Resource efficient sustainable lifestyles

SI Type

Main type of innovation

Service / Process - Groceries which would be thrown away are delivered to people in need. Mountains of waste are avoided, and still good groceries are used instead of thrown away.

SI Objectives

Explicit Objectives

Avoid that tons of groceries are no more thrown away.
Deliver groceries to people in need.

Other Objectives

Build awareness regarding profusion.
Protect the environment and mountains from waste.
Provide a bigger amount of food and more healthy food supply through welfare facilities.

SI Origin

Before the initiative was founded, the initiators did an ’potential and environment analysis’, an excursion to different social services and they visited ’Tafeln’ in Hamburg and Berlin. To find a juridical clarification, the initiators founded an association, which made it easer for them to get in contact with potential donators and sponsors.

SI Factors of success

Economic - Reduces food waste. Social services save money.
Environmental - Reduces food waste. The initiative was awarded three times as best social and environmental association.
Political - Wiener Tafel exists since 15 years and is still running in a very successful way. There is the need for this kind of actions which the state does not undertake.
Social - Through the initiative social services can save money.
Ethical - Builds awareness regarding the throw away society.

Sources

Primary - Website of the initiative: www.wienertafel.at provides information about their initiative and their aims.
Secondary - The business director is very eager to provide needed information.

Public Participation in Developing a Common Framework for the Assessment and Management of Sustainable Innovation