German Food Banks in the border region of Saxony and its Czech counterparts have been working closely together for more than a year. In July, representatives of both associations met in Prague to discuss further cooperation possibilities, aiming at taking cross-border action to reduce food waste and help people in need. “So far, the Czech Food Banks have primarily supplied social organizations, such as Caritas, old people’s and children’s homes, or women’s shelters, but have not provided support to people in need directly,” comments Karltheodor Huttner, regional chairman of food banks in Saxony.
This will change in the future, as Czech food banks will follow the example of their neighbor and support people in need directly. Aleš Slavícek, manager of the Association of Food Banks in the Czech Republic: “We are inspired by the fact that the Food Banks in Germany distribute food directly. We have started to specify the terms of our cooperation. Our Food Banks near the border go to Dresden to pick up goods. We also wanted to see what the differences are. During the first year, we distributed 20 tons from Germany to the Czech Republic. That helped us a lot, because it increased the range of goods offered by our Food Banks”.
“Surplus goods from the Food Banks in Saxony already end up in the Czech border region to a large extent, because there is a higher need in small districts and in the border area than in larger cities, where many discount stores donates food”, explains Dietmar Haase, co-chair of Food Banks in Saxony. “We already support Food Banks that are close to the border, such as Litomerice, Liberec, Ústí nad Labem or Karlovy Vary. Their Food Banks come to Dresden once a week, where our large logistic center is located.”
Source: Radio Prague International from 22.07.2020 (excerpt) and Euroregion Erzgebirge
