Second Surplus Food Supermarket Opens in Denmark

28 Nov 2016 --- A Danish supermarket which sells surplus food that is either past its sell-by date, has damaged packing or issues with labeling, has been such a big hit in Copenhagen that a second store has just opened. Wefood sells goods and products that regular supermarkets can no longer sell or don’t want to. The products are still edible and safe to consume according to the Danish food legislation, but have simply lost their value to the partner donating them.

The first WeFood store open earlier this year with the official ceremony attended by the Danish Minister for Food and Environment, Eva Kjer Hansen and the patron of DCA, HRH Princess Marie of Denmark who hailed the ‘social supermarket’ as a first of its kind for the country. 

Since March shoppers have regularly queued outside the store to buy cut price food sold with between 30-50 per cent off the market price. 

Every day volunteers collect surplus or unwanted food from retailers, producers and import and export companies, and stack their shelves with whatever is donated on any given day which means WeFood’s products and prices vary. This concept has proved so successful that a second branch has now opened in the Nørrebro district. 

“Unlike similar surplus supermarkets around Europe, Wefood is for everyone; whether you want to support the fight against famine, stop food waste or simply want to save money on your groceries. The project’s overall aspiration is to benefit consumers, impoverished countries and the environment,” says WeFood.

An initial donation from the Roskilde Foundation and DanChruchAid (DCA) helped get the project off the ground as well as a crowdfunding campaign which raised more than one million DKK (US$142,623) in just three weeks.

“DanChurchAid’s aim with Wefood is to reduce the amount of food waste in Denmark and to raise money for the organization’s work in developing nations. DanChurchAid uses the proceeds from Wefood to combat famine in impoverished countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.”

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, almost 1.3bn tons of food are wasted every year, more than enough to sustain the one billion people suffering from hunger globally. 

“Over a third of all food produced in the world ends up in the trash. At the same time nearly 800 million people all over the world goes hungry to bed every night. DanChuchAid decided to do something about the problem. In February 2016, the organization opened the world’s first supermarket only with surplus goods. The supermarket at Amagerbrogade in Copenhagen quickly became a success and therefore DanChurchAid has decided to open one more,” adds WeFood.”

Food waste remains one of the single biggest issues of today with more emphasis than ever before on reducing global waste and averting a future food crisis. The food industry is making clear progress, with higher rates of food donated and increased investment in solutions, according to a recent report by the Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA).

by Gaynor Selby