Dinner Exchange | Leftovers

Apples, mangos and tomatoes would have rotted away in the trash if Sandra and Sarah didn't save them from their certain spoilage. Both like to cook with food that would otherwise have been thrown out. What started as a private event in Sandra's apartment has since then evolved to a small success story – the last Dinner Exchange event, hosted by Markthalle IX in Kreuzberg, saw over 40 guests. Sandra and Sarah were able to get a hold of one of the last hotly contested seats via e-mail reservations.

Sarah and Sandra first came into contact with the idea of arranging an entire dinner from leftover foods in London: "We have a friend named Alice Panel that has been running the Dinner Exchange events there since 2009," says Sarah. She and Sandra regularly scan Berlin's weekly markets at Winterfeldtplatz and Maybachufer for leftover food. Vendors that aren't already part of the "Tafel" charity program are usually more than happy to give away their unused comestibles.

According to a study by the University of Stuttgart, two thirds of the food we throw out in Germany is actually still fit for consumption. Although Dinner Exchange confronts this problem, Sandra wouldn't consider herself an activist: "Of course we want to call attention to the issue of food waste, but more than that, we're just having fun. 50 percent of it is an appeal, the other 50 a friendly get-together."

It's easy to meet new people at the shared dinners hosted by Dinner Exchange – and the number one topic is always the menu. "It's always an experiment," says Sarah, "because we don't decide on what we'll cook that night until we get the leftovers." The results are promising: Combinations like whole wheat past and melons probably wouldn't make it to many a contestant's homely stove. At the end of the night, dinner guests can decide for themselves how much they'd like to contribute. The profits will go to organizations that support a better distribution of comestibles.

(amd)