Cooked, but left over: why canteen food should be passed on

The idea

übrig is the note for the last fifteen minutes of a shift. A kitchen checks the food with seven hygiene questions, reports it, sticks a label on the container and records the handover in the log. Whatever is released is ordered by social institutions. Only then does an übrig courier pick it up and bring it over, usually the same evening. Built in Bern by Richard Červenka with volunteers.

To be honest: it's not running yet

Right now, übrig is an idea with finished tools. The pilot has not started yet. The übrig app at /app/ is still being tested. There you sign in with a link sent by email, and offers and reservations are stored in a database in the EU. The tool on the home page needs no account. What you enter there stays in your browser.

The plan for the pilot: canteens report in the afternoon what is left, fill boxes and cool them to 5 °C or below. The institutions order portions, and only then does the courier get the route. The e-cargo bike collects the boxes in cool boxes and takes them to three stops. In the evening the food is heated through properly and eaten. Times and route are estimates, and the canteens are examples.

Who accepts food?

On the home page there is a starter list of places in Bern, such as night shelters and the Gassenküche (street kitchen). Before the first handover, the business calls them and clarifies the conditions.

How you can help

You can join as a kitchen, order food as an institution, or contribute. One evening with the e-cargo bike costs eleven francs. We will open the donation account in the coming weeks.