Just one of more than 90 boxes with 360 eggs each that Daniela Schnagl-Vitak and her helpers saved. When goods are offered to us, a mistake has usually happened. © Pat
The Olching food rescuers repeatedly attract attention with particularly spectacular actions. Now they have been able to save 33,000 eggs from the garbage. This was only possible because many helpers were ready.
Olching – When an offer comes in from the food rescuers, it usually has to be done quickly. It was no different the other day when a wholesaler offered them a batch of eggs. Otherwise they would have ended up in the garbage. Something that founder Daniela Schnagl-Vitak would like to avoid at all costs. "Out of respect for resources, for human labor, for food." That's why she doesn't like it when you throw away food that is still usable.
Thanks to the "Rescuer App": Food rescuers save 33,000 eggs from the garbage can - "Out of respect"
The special thing about the egg offer was that it wasn't about a few boxes, but about a whopping 33,000 eggs. Together, they weighed a ton. Enough to let all Olchingers enjoy a breakfast ice cream. And then there would still have been enough left to cover the whole of Gernlinden.
Daniela Schnagl-Vitak does not know how it came about that the wholesaler was left with such a large item. As a rule, she would be offered overproduction, or goods that were incorrectly packaged or not properly labeled. "Mistakes happen to everyone," she says.
Food rescuers in Olching: 200 helpers set off
After the offer came in, the members were mobilized via app. 200 food rescuers then drove to the wholesale store to load the eggs. They then organized the distributions in public places and posted in the rescuer app where interested parties could pick them up.
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 11 million tons of food end up in the garbage in Germany every year. 59 percent of them in private households. That's around 78 kilograms per person per year.
You can find even more up-to-date news from the Fürstenfeldbruck district on Merkur.de/Fürstenfeldbruck.
Without people like Daniela Schnagl-Vitak, there would be even more. In 2022, their food rescuers gUG alone distributed 237 tonnes to 5000 collectors.
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Cooling box and thermometer always with you
The non-profit entrepreneurial company has been active for five years and has always worked "highly professionally and safely", as Schnagl-Vitak repeats like a mantra. To ensure this, the food rescuers worked on the concept for 1.5 years in cooperation with the district office. This was necessary because, according to Schnagl-Vitak, "the moment I have food in my hand and someone else gives it to me, I am a food business operator and there are legal requirements. Period." For example, each rescuer's personal equipment includes gloves, refrigerated boxes and thermometers so that they can comply with these hygiene and cold chain requirements.
Within the legal regulations, the rescuers are responsible for themselves. Schnagl-Vitak doesn't like hierarchies. "The rescuer in the car is right. He goes there, sorts, sets the distribution and chooses for himself from the given public places where he distributes." She herself provides the platform. Currently, a concept for an integration project in the probation service is awaiting approval at the Ministry of Justice. The idea comes from a rescuer. The sometimes spectacular rescues of large quantities in a short period of time show that the non-profit entrepreneurial society can work.
Large-scale campaign with potato chips
The Olching food rescuers became known to the general public in December 2022 when they distributed 3.5 tons of potato chips. They had been left behind at a Dachau freight forwarding company. During loading, the food rescuers found a GPS tracker. The police suspected that something forbidden was hidden in the chips – perhaps drugs. The smuggled goods were probably so lucrative that the owner could get over the 35,000 euros for the chips. Patrick Tietz
