City of Jena supports the Foodsharing Café program

The city of Jena approves the application of the association fairwertbar e. V. for funding in the amount of 2,700 euros to enable an urban food sharing café format. The project aims to create a sustainable meeting place that promotes the exchange of ideas about food and resource waste as well as sustainable lifestyles.

Sustainable meeting place for Jena

Wasting food and resources is one of the key challenges of our time. The fairwertbar e. V. association, which emerged from the Jena food sharing group and the Repariercafé, has been developing concrete solutions to these issues for years. Until now, however, the association has had no fixed location and has had to move from room to room, sometimes storing its materials in private homes. At the beginning of the year, Treffpunkt am Fichteplatz (TaF) e.V. offered the association the opportunity for a permanent location. The weekly food "fair shares" at Fichteplatz are to be accompanied by a colorful supporting program, which will now operate under the label foodsharing café. The planned Foodsharing Café is intended to serve as a meeting place for citizens to discuss environmentally friendly alternatives and sustainable lifestyles. At the same time, it is intended to sensitize the population to the consequences of a resource-intensive lifestyle. Of course, eating together should not be neglected either. To this end, regular cooking events with food distribution will take place.

The Repariercafé, which has been looking for suitable rooms for events and storage for over ten years, will also benefit from the project. In view of the limited space available in Jena, there is a clear need for publicly funded space for sustainable projects.

Support in line with urban objectives

Support for the food sharing café is in line with existing city council resolutions:

• The city of Jena's climate action plan explicitly provides for the realization of a food sharing café (measure BM 16: Reduction of food waste, resolution of 19.04.2023).
  
• Since 2021, the city's sustainability strategy (resolution of 27.04.2021) has provided for the support of existing sharing activities, public relations work to prevent food waste and the provision of rooms for the repair café.

The project is being implemented in cooperation with various initiatives and partners from the sustainability sector, including foodsharing Jena, Repariercafé Jena, Südviertel solidarisch e. V. (Magdelstube), Treffpunkt am Fichteplatz (TaF) e. V., the Jena-Süd district council and the district mayor of Jena-Süd.

"With the Foodsharing Café format, we are not only creating a place where rescued food can be put to good use, but also a space for people to meet, exchange ideas and act sustainably," says Dirk Lange, Head of Urban Development and Environment for the City of Jena. "In this way, we combine sustainability with a lively neighborhood and strengthen togetherness in our city."

With this funding, the city of Jena is sending out a clear signal in support of sustainable projects and the implementation of its climate and sustainability goals. The provision of space and resources for the food sharing café makes an important contribution to reducing food and resource waste and raises awareness of a climate and environmentally friendly lifestyle in urban society.