We, in other words the EGS OU 1130, were able to help out for a day at one of the 14 SooGut social market locations in Austria. 

The market receives surplus products or products that are close to their expiry date from supermarkets and then sells them to people on low incomes at a third of the regular retail price. It is worth noting that the entire staff work on a voluntary basis. Food delivered by trucks had to be sorted and, depending on the product group, more or less strict attention was paid to the expiry date. In most cases, the vegetables were unpacked and judged on the basis of their visual appearance as to whether they were still fit for sale or not. They were then priced. 

All in all, it was an impressive experience that exceeded my original expectations many times over. It wasn't just us as the ‘Erste Group Services delegation’ on site, but also other support staff, some of whom had little knowledge of German. Nevertheless - and I found this astonishing - the cooperation worked well and the odd conversation was struck up. 

Of course, there are also downsides to such a concept, but on the whole, we live in a meritocracy in which one or two people are quickly left behind by adverse life circumstances. The concept of social supermarkets is therefore not only a very sustainable form of shopping that greatly reduces food waste, but also a valuable and necessary contribution to society.

I recommend anyone who is thinking about giving a certain amount of their time to the community to get socially involved - you also become aware of your own privileges again and the one or other ‘worry’ that you carry around with you quickly becomes less important.  

Author: Franziska Tromba