The Weiterstadt-Riedbahn Fairteiler project for sharing food and children’s clothing

published on 7 January 2025

With the financial support of Rödl Employee Fund it was possible to establish a food sharing station and a stand for the exchange of children's clothing. Now, people can help themselves to food and children's clothing free of charge day and night. Since November 2024, in particular low-income families have benefited from this option, which, at the same time, constitutes an important contribution to environmental protection.

A stand for sharing children's clothing

The project was developed in collaboration with “Kindergarten Wiesenstraße” in Weiterstadt Riedbahn, which had been pursuing the idea of building a stand for sharing children's clothing for some time. The implementation had earlier failed mainly due to a lack of financial resources. The kindergarten staff members are in daily contact with children from low-income families, and the proportion of children with a migration background is particularly high in this neighbourhood. At the same time, they realised that, actually, there are enough children's clothes, but most of them end up in the old clothes container instead of being passed on to other families that could really use them. Also language barriers often prevent families even from getting into contact with each other, thus making it impossible to actively swap clothing. Focused on overcoming these barriers and to promote the circular economy for textiles, I decided to help implement the project.

Fairteiler for sharing food

At the same time, I have been an active member of the Foodsharing association for several years and in my leisure time I rescue food products from businesses that would otherwise end up in the bin. So far, I have shared them privately by putting them out on my doorstep. Thanks to the kindergarten project I hit upon the idea of giving my food sharing initiative more limelight and making it accessible to the public so that everyone could benefit from it yet stay anonymous. This is because many people who really need this food feel ashamed and therefore do not take advantage of such private food sharing initiatives.

The project has thus developed to combine a food sharing station and a stand for swapping children's clothing, which meets both social and ecological goals.

Project implementation

Thanks to many volunteers, a roofed garden tool shed was built in the immediate vicinity of the kindergarten. Firstly, the foundations were built, with three young refugee men proving to be experts and expertly laying the concrete slabs.

The tool shed is now used for storing children's clothing brought by families in which children have already grown out of them and freely accessible to other families in which children need new clothes.

The roofed space houses a stand where rescued food products are offered. They mainly come from entities cooperating with the Foodsharing association, but also private households can share food that they will not consume anymore. The Fairteiler distributor is managed by the kindergarten staff and by volunteers from the Foodsharing e.V. association.

After months of planning, obtaining all necessary approvals, and implementation, the project was officially inaugurated in November 2024. Mayor Ralf Möller took part in the ceremony and expressed his heartfelt thanks - to me on behalf of the Rödl Employee Fund, and everyone else involved in making the project possible.