General – Communication – Foodsaving – Foodsharing Points (FPs) – Onboarding

This document is a translation of the original group agreement in German [PDF]. In case of ambiguities or mistranslations, the original document in German is the valid reference for the group functioning.

1. Intention

Mission

To pick up and redistribute food that would be thrown away if not taken by charities.

Offers

• Ensure organized and spontaneous pickups in the respective Regional Circle
• Exchange between the members of the circle on the development of new local projects
• Election of a regional representative and a well-being manager
• Storage and maintenance of the association’s material
• Keeping an inventory of the association’s material
• Lending the association’s material
• Organisation of public events, in particular information booths and cooking events, which have to be announced to every member

Goals

• Creating cooperations with businesses and other organisations based in Luxembourg to pick up food that they don’t want to sell any more but which is still edible
• Organising pickups in a just and environmentally friendly way by our Foodsavers that are close to the pickup places anyway
• Increasing engagement of Foodsavers to get active in other parts of our association as well

Domain

• Creating cooperations with food businesses and other organisations based in Luxembourg for rescuing food, using signatures of 2 Administrators if a contract needs to be signed
• Deciding when to accept new Foodsavers

2. Regional Circles (RC)

2.1. Geographical breakdown in Regional Circles

Foodsharing Luxembourg is geographically divided into the following Regional Circles (RCs): 

• East: consisting of cantons Echternach, Grevenmacher and Remich
• Centre: consisting of cantons Mersch and Luxembourg
• North: consisting of cantons Clervaux, Diekirch, Redange, Wiltz and Vianden
• South: consisting of cantons Capellen and Esch/Alzette

2.2. Mission

Actively reduce food waste in the region by picking up and redistributing food that would be thrown away if not taken by charities.

2.3. Goal

Establish and maintain a network between Foodsavers of the region for better cooperation and effectiveness.

2.4. Responsibilities

• Participate in Foodsaving activities in the region.
• Exchange ideas for improvement, inform each other about changes, share feedback and address common challenges.
• Actively seek partnerships and collaborations with new businesses in the region to encourage their participation in food rescues and other Foodsharing activities.
• Raise awareness about the environmental and social impacts of food waste by organising and participating in information stands and community events.
• Regularly organise and attend circle meetings.
• The RC South takes care of the storage and maintenance of the association’s material, the keeping of an inventory of the association’s material and the loan of the association’s material.
• RC Centre takes care of the maintenance, upkeep and storage of the association’s cargo bike.

2.5. Roles

• Regional circle Leader
• Regional circle Representative
• Regional circle Member

2.6. How do I become a member of a Regional Circle?

You can sign up for at maximum 2 Regional Circles.

3. Roles

3.1. Foodsaver

Responsibilities

• Foodsavers divide the food independently into edible and no longer edible  food during the pick-up, distribution is their own responsibility and at their discretion.
• Take care of Test pick-up collectors (see section “Test Pick-ups”).

How do I become a Foodsaver?

1. Become a Foodsharing member.
2. If you already have a Foodsaving Passport from Foodsharing Germany, Austria, Switzerland or East Belgium, mail a digital version to onboarding@foodsharing.lu. Pass to point 4.
3. Accomplish in a delay of three months and at three different dates: three Test Pickups with three different Foodsavers at three different places. After the three tests, write in the Channel « Test PickUp Check » from Mattermost for each one the date, the place and the name of the Foodsaver who you accompagned. 
4. After check, you will receive from the Onboarding Circle the access for Karrot.world and some important informations about the App Karrot.
5. Ounce you receive the access, register yourself on Karrot.world with real first and last name and recent photo of you.
6. Create yourself your Foodsaver Pass with your identifier from Karrot.world on the Channel from Onboarding.

How do I relinquish my position as a Foodsaver?

1. Deregistration at the Onboarding Working Circle.

3.2. Cooperation Manager

Responsibilities

• Collaborate and communicate everything with the 2nd Cooperation Manager.
• Establish and organize a cooperation with one or more people.
• Arrange with the cooperation the process for pick-ups and make sure that all agreed pick-up dates take place.  If no one else can carry out the pick-up-, step  in themselves and cancel the pick-up’s early as possible in only in an emergency.
• Maintain the operating side on karrot.world, e.B.  Special features, usual pick-up quantity and pick-up times. Regular pickups have to be entered as recurrent pickups on Karrot with slots opening 2 weeks in advance.
• For easier exchange with the cooperation, it is possible for the Cooperation Managers to join a maximum of one pick-up per month per cooperation, even if there is no slot available. For this, however, the Cooperation Managers must create an additional slot and inform the other food savers at least 1 hour before the pick-up.
• Set newbies that want to do test pickups in touch with Foodsavers for pickups.

How do I become a Cooperation Manager?

1. Suggest a cooperation to all Foodsavers.
2. See if enough Foodsavers can be found for the pickups.
3. Send an inquiry to the company about establishing cooperation. 

Or:

1. Take over a cooperation from a previous cooperation manager.

Or:

1. If there is a cooperation but no Cooperation Manager anymore or yet, the applicants applying within 24 hours after the call and with the least number of cooperations they manage are accepted. If it is not clear, they need to agree among themselves.

How do I relinquish my position as person in charge of a cooperation?

1. Announce the resignation to all Foodsavers.
2. Find a replacement.
3. Make a handover with the new person.
4. Notify the company of the change.
5. Communicate change to all Foodsavers.
6. Be available for four weeks for inquiries.

3.3. Contact person for the Ministry of Health

Responsibilities

• Direct contact person of Foodsaving for the Ministry of Health
• Representing the interests of Foodsaving at the Ministry of Health

How do I become a contact person for the Ministry of Health?

Sociocratic election at the Foodsaving circle meeting.

How do I resign as a contact person for the Ministry of Health?

1. Announce resignation to all members of own circle.
2. Hold a sociocratic election at the next meeting.
3. Hand over to the new person.
4. Be available for enquiries for four weeks.

3.4. Member of Foodsaving Circle

Responsibilities

• Talking to other members about what works and what doesn’t in informal settings
• Explaining the problem and asking for ideas for solutions on Karrot before the meeting at which the problem is discussed

3.5. New Cooperation Facilitator

Responsibilities

• Handling requests sent by businesses wanting to have a collaboration sent to foodsaving@foodsharing.lu
• Finding Cooperation Managers for these businesses using our rule on how to define them
• Finding Foodsavers for single pickups by using a dedicated page for all the cooperations that don’t collaborate with us regularly

How do I become the New Cooperation Facilitator?

Sociocratic election at the Foodsaving circle meeting. 

How do I resign as the New Cooperation Facilitator?

1. Announce resignation to all members of their own circle.
2. Hold a sociocratic election at the next meeting.
3. Hand over to the new person.
4. Be available for enquiries for 4 weeks.

4. Establishing a cooperation with companies

4.1.  Before the first contact

1. A Foodsaver who establishes the cooperation is responsible for operations as Cooperation Manager (see “Cooperation Manager” role).
2. Check whether the business is already registered on karrot.world under “Places”.
3. If so, find out if someone is already taking care of the cooperation and coordinate with that person.
4. If not, maybe ask the business privately what happens to the food leftovers, suggest the idea at the next member meeting or otherwise by e-mail to all members.
5. Enter the business on karrot.world with the current state of negotiations so that a cooperation page is created and all information can be collected there. Make sure to tag yourself in the description of this cooperation page.
6. There should be enough Foodsavers available to guarantee pickups.
7. Find another potential Cooperation Manager, and tag them in the description of this cooperation page.

4.2. The first contact

1. Send an e-mail to the desired business.
2. Briefly introduce Foodsharing and make an appointment for a meeting with those responsible and the 2nd Cooperation Manager.

4.3. First meeting

1. Present Foodsharing concisely.
2. Ask the current situation: What happens to the sorted out goods? Are there already cooperations with foodsaving organizations? How could Foodsharing support?
3. Explain advantages for the cooperation.
   1. Save money and manpower:
      1. for waste disposal: save paying for container capacity.
      2. for sorting: Taking over the sorting of  the no longer sellable food into edible and no longer  edible.
   2. Flexibility: Pick-ups on weekends, holidays, late at night, early in the morning or even in case of  cancellation of pick-ups from  other organizations.
   3. As a rule,  fixed days and fixed times are  arranged with the foodsavers for pick-up, so that the company knows exactly when the food will be picked up.
   4. If interested, the business is mentioned as a supporter i.e. advertising for the recipient, image cultivation, social responsibility reputation among their clients.
   5. Ethical handling of food: Contributing to the saving of edible food and to climate protection.
   6. Legally on the safe side with Foodsharing Luxembourg: Food levies do not mean any legal risks for the business (disclaimer, legal basis and hygiene guidelines).
4. Discuss details for the cooperation:
   1. Pick-up dates: fixed days of the week and times are ideal, but pick-ups on a spontaneous telephone call from the management are also possible.
   2. Pick-up location: Where exactly?  Can the Foodsavers sort food and divide there or should this take place in another location?  Define waste disposal and separation?
5. Leave your personal contact details.
6. Ask for contact details and contact persons of the business.
7. Clarify the name of the business: Are we allowed to say where  the food comes from? Can the business be mentioned in the press?
8. Agree and send a follow up email with the next steps.

4.4. After the first meeting

As the Cooperation Managers:

1. Update the cooperation page on karrot.world, including the exact address of the company, and update all Foodsavers.
2. Recruit more Foodsavers for support as needed.
3. Arrange the first pick-up appointment with the cooperation and Foodsavers who want to pick up.

5. Pick-ups

• Only for new collaborations, slots for Foodsharing Points can be reserved by the Cooperation Managers.
• If another event organised by us needs food, the Cooperation Managers have to reserve the requested slots for it.
• If there are more than 10 kg of food retrieved on average, the Cooperation Managers have to create at least 2 slots.

5.1. Procedure of a pick-up

1. Sign up for the pick-up on karrot.world. Every Foodsaver can pick up at maximum 3 times per week at different cooperations and only once per week per place, except if the pickup slot is still empty 24 hours in advance. It is forbidden to reserve slots for others.
2. Foodsaver is at the pick-up ten minutes before the agreed time with jute bags, boxes, bicycle or car etc. 
3. Meet with the other registered Foodsavers in front of the business and  enter the business together. Show Foodsharing card on request. In case of delay, let other Foodsavers know by phone and wait outside.
4. The food to be saved is quickly divided among the Foodsavers, it is not counted, everyone takes what they will use or distribute.
5. Leave the business together.
6. Give feedback on Karrot.world by at least one person within 72 hours. This person indicates the estimated total pick-up quantity and the people that joined for the trial pick-up.

5.2. Stepping back from a pickup

If a Foodsaver steps back from a pickup, they have to sign out on Karrot. If it happens more than 24 hours before the pickup, they are allowed to do a post only on the place wall on Karrot. If it happens within 24 hours before the pickup, they have to look for a replacement themselves and can do a post on the wall of the whole Karrot group. If they cannot find one person, they contact the Foodsavers that will go and the Cooperation Manager.

5.3. Behaviour during a pick-up

• People who do not belong to the association who help as a transportation aid are waiting away from the business.
• The bringing of children or animals into the business is not permitted. They should wait outside.
• Comments on the quantity, type and use of the food must not be discussed at the business.
• The pick-up location must be left  as clean and rubbish-free as possible. Waste such as packaging or cartons must be disposed of on site in accordance with the operating specifications.
• Everything edible is taken away.

5.4. Test pick-ups

1. Registration with the Onboarding circle.
2. Requesting test pickups to which Cooperation Managers will respond by setting them in touch with Foodsavers for pickups at least 48 hours in advance.
3. Information on the part of the accompanying Foodsavers about the pick-up quantity, carrying devices, procedure, special features of the respective company and the operating side on karrot.world.
4. Arranging appointments with the Foodsavers of different pickups at cooperations. There can only be one test pickup per pickup.
5. Execution of the pick-ups.
6. The Onboarding circle decides with the accompanying Foodsavers about your admission as a Foodsaver.

6. Hygiene Charter

6.1. Recommendations on the direct handling, transport and storage of food

• Refrigerated goods:  Keep to the cold chain, i.e. uninterrupted transport in a cooler bag with cooling elements and storage in a cool bag.
• Transport and store food in food-safe packaging, recognizable by the following indications: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) for food and the glass-and-fork symbol.
• Store raw and cooked/prepared food separately 
• Storing food with soil residue separately to the rest of the food. 

6.2.  Edibility control

• Check for edibility before receiving or passing on food, as far as possible try not to open the packaging
• Check the appearance and color: Inedible in case of discoloration, turbidity, dehydration, freezer burn and mold
• Check the consistency, structure and surface: Inedible on greasy surface, mucus formation, liquefaction, hardening, segregation, gas formation and coagulation
• Check the smell and taste: Inedible if rotten, sour, musty, old, rancid, fermented, fishy or soapy smell/taste

6.3. The transfer of the following products is prohibited

• Inedible foods (see edible control) 
• Foods after the use-by date
• Raw fish, raw meat
• Raw milk products
• Dine with raw egg and tiramisu, homemade mayonnaise
• Alcohol
• Tobacco
• Medication

6.4. Handling of food is not permitted in the following cases

• Diarrhea, severe nausea or vomiting
• An infectious disease
• Skin disease or open wound
• Fever above 38.5°C

6.5. Legal provisions on the transfer and receipt of funds

• Foodsavers are responsible for the food they pass on.
• Foodsharing Luxembourg is not a food business.
• The distributions take place from private person to private person. That is why there is no need for traceability of the food. This also means that the association Foodsharing Luxembourg is not liable for food poisoning or similar. There is no liability claim by the recipient for consequential damages.
• In the case of personal handover, the recipients should be informed orally that they   should carefully check the food again before consumption.

7. Conflicts management

A circle is in charge of the management of the conflict resolution inside Foodsaving.

7.1. Description of the Conflict Resolution Circle

Mission

To guarantee an harmonious Foodsaving in line with the association’s DNA

Goals

• Treating violations of the rules by hearing everybody involved, by requiring evidence and by handing out penalties if required
• Resolving conflicts using Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and mediation
• Making proposals for improving the rules of the Foodsaving project to reduce conflicts

Domain

• Deciding on excluding people from the Foodsaving project for a certain or for an unlimited time
• Making proposals for exclusion of the association to the Administrators circle in severe cases

7.2. Description of process of Conflict Resolution Circle

• On Google Drive, there is a folder that is accessible only to this circle and the Administrators circle.
  • All statements and the decision must be documented.
  • In a spreadsheet, each case reported is treated using a consecutive, unique number, the name of the reported person, the name of the reporter, the date and time, a short description, the consequences applied, and the date of decision.
  • Proofs and notes of the meetings or calls are recorded in a folder containing the case number. 
• A block list for the Foodsaving project accessible to the Onboarding circle members for approving people on Karrot is maintained. These check this list before approving new members on Karrot.
• Decision taking
  • The circle will review the reported situation in discussion with all parties involved and then decide whether to issue a consequence against the reported foodsaver.
  • If a member of the circle is involved in the reported situation, then this member does not take part in the decision.
  • The decision is communicated to the reported person and the reporting person.
• Data protection
  • The reported person will not know the name of the reporter unless the reporter has explicitly allowed this.
  • Everything concerning reports of rule violations must be kept strictly confidential. All persons involved are bound to secrecy!
  • Each Foodsaver may request from the circle the current consequences against them. Before release, the name of the reporter and obvious references to their name are removed.

7.3. Violations and consequences 

• For small infractions and warnings, the infraction is counted during the 3 months following the date of the infraction. After three months, the infraction is no longer counted.
• Three minor infractions within three months equals one warning.
• One warning will result in a 2-week suspension from Karrot.
• 3 warnings are equivalent to a serious infraction.
• One serious offence automatically leads to a request being sent to the administrators for exclusion from the association of the person in question
• The following lists are not complete.

7.3.1 Consequences for Foodsavers

• Small infraction
  • not respecting the schedule (being early and do the pickup before the official time of the pickup, or being late) without informing the other Foodsavers registered in the pickup
  • giving a bad image of the association (no basic politeness, etc)
  • not having a bag or vehicle adapted to the quantities in the store’s reports (CR) or to the outside temperature (respecting the cold chain)
  • not to make its report (CR) following the pickup (after concertation during the pickup of which will make the feedback). If someone writes “the other person will do the pickup” it is considered as a CR, if it was decided with the person in charge of writing the CR
  • imposing a food distribution without discussing it with the other foodsaver
  • not respecting the rules of hygiene
• Warning
  • Doing pickup outside the open pickups in Karrot “wild pickup” by mistake
  • Modifying  elements on Karrot without having the right to do so (e.g. adding a new member, cooperation slots) by mistake
  • Prompting staff to receive something from the pickup or having a conflict with store personnel
  • Overstepping their role as foodsaver during the pickup (e.g., taking pictures, asking for ingredient lists, commenting on the quality or quantity of the pickup, lack of discretion about what happens to the pickup)
  • Denigrate other Foodsavers or association members to stores
  • Do not come to a pickup without telling anyone
  • Unregister at the last minute (less than 12 hours in advance)
  • Repeatedly reserve slots (>1 time per week) for their circle of acquaintance
  • deliberately transferring a slot to an acquaintance, without a last minute withdrawal
  • not respecting the rules of food distribution between Foodsavers specified by the store (ex: “do not sort the food in the shop”)
  • Not respecting the maximum number of pickups.
  • Having an incomplete profile on Karrot.
• Serious offence
  • Picking up outside the open pickups in Karrot “wild pickup” intentionally
  • Pretending to be Foodsharing and receiving unsold goods without opening the slots on Karrot
  • If the behaviour of a foodsaver leads a cooperation to ask that the foodsaver does not pick up anymore
  • If a cooperation asks to stop the collaboration with the association because of the behaviour of a person
  • To make a report (CR) of a pickup to which one did not go
  • Modify elements on Karrot without having the right to do so (e.g. adding a new member, cooperation slots) repeatedly
  • Be registered on Karrot for two pickups at the same time at two different locations
  • Damage the reputation of the association with inappropriate behaviour
  • Not respecting the suspension of Karrot following 3 small offences

7.3.2 Consequences for Cooperation Managers

• Small infraction
  • Manipulation of the system with the aim of creating an advantage for oneself or for acquaintances (within 3 months) 
• Warning
  • Repetitive manipulation of the Karrot system (for example: not creating regular pickups automatically 2 weeks in advance but creating them manually).
• Serious offence
  • A Cooperation Manager deliberately takes decisions to close or change the slot of a cooperation, without the initiative coming from the store (unfair competition).

History of changes

• 16.01.2024
  • Added: new role “New Cooperation Facilitator”
  • Change: “Regional Circles” to define more clearly their mission, goal, responsibilities and roles.
  • Added: rule for case that there is a cooperation without Cooperation Managers to “Cooperation Manager” section
• 13.11.2023
  • Added: Limit to one test pickup per pickup, added to 4th step of “Test pick-ups”
  • Added: Responsibilities for Foodsaving circle members for making sure that other Foodsavers are heard, added as “Responsibilities” under new role “Member of Foodsaving circle”
• 09.11.2023
  • Changed: Backup Manager role is replaced by 2nd Cooperation Manager role with equal responsibility than 1st one, added new first point to “Responsibilities” under “Cooperation Manager”, adapted “Before the first contact”, “The first contact” and “After the first meeting” accordingly, and used plural in other places
  • Added: New responsibility for Cooperation Manager of setting newbies that want to do test pickups in touch with Foodsavers, added new point to “Responsibilities” under “Cooperation Manager” and split 1st step under “Test pick-ups” into 2 steps and clarified 2nd one
  • Changed: Need to tag yourself as Cooperation Manager in the description of the cooperation page instead of writing your whole name and phone number, adapted 5th step under “‘Before the first contact” and 1st step under “After the first meeting”
• 11.10.2023
  • Changed: Regrouped Regional Circles to East, Centre, North and South
• 25.05.2023
  • Added: minimum 2 slots if there is more than 10 kg on average under “Pick-ups”
• 23.03.2023
  • Removed: election of “a well-being manager” from offers
  • Added: “based in Luxembourg” to goals and domain
  • Added: responsibility of the cargo bike for RC Luxembourg under “Responsibilities” under “Breakdown of members into Regional Circles (RC)”
  • Added: “the exact address of the company” to “After the first meeting” under “Establishing a cooperation with companies”
  • Removed: “Distribution Days” unter “Pick-ups”
• 14.03.2023
  • Added: conflict resolution
  • Added: deadline for submitting feedback on pickups
• 06.02.2023
  • Changed: moved list of responsibilities as “Offers” to “Intention”
  • Added: mission, goals, domain into very first section with the title “Intention”
• 20.12.2022
  • Added: Maximum of 3 pickups per week, not for DD slots, in point 1 under ‘Procedure of a pick-up’
  • Changed: Limit lowered from 48 h to 24 h, in point 1 under ‘Procedure of a pick-up’
  • Added: Forbidden to reserve slots for others, in point 1 under ‘Procedure of a pick-up’
  • Changed: Clarification that other events are meant in the pont 2, directly under ‘Pick-ups’
• 19.10.2022
  • Added: Taking care of the material of RC Esch/Alzette, under “Responsibilities” under “Division of members in Regional Circles (RC)”.
  • Added: Open the slots 2 weeks in advance, under “Responsibilities” under “Cooperation Manager”
  • Added: Possibility for the Cooperation Manager to join a pick-up for easier exchange, under “Responsibilities” under “Cooperation Manager”
  • Added: Clarification of when slots can be reserved for Distribution Days and Foodsharing Points, directly under “Pick-ups”.
  • Added: Obligation to reserve pick-ups for own events, directly under “Pick-ups”
  • Changed: Split of the two Regional Circles Clervaux-Wiltz and Diekirch-Vianden.
  • Added: Cooperation Manager backup under “Roles” and under “After the first meeting” under “Setting up cooperation with companies”
  • Added: Contact person for the Ministry of Health under “Roles”
• 11.10.2022
  • Added: Recognition of Foodsaving passport from Germany, Austria, Switzerland or East Belgium,
  • Added: 3 tests pickups at 3 different dates with 3 different Foodsavers at 3 different places
  • Added: Channel “Test Pick Up Check” from Mattermost.
  • Added: Create yourself the Foodsaver Pass
• 17.07.2022
  • Added: supplemented the domain of the Regional Circles with material storage, maintenance, inventory as well as lending, and with the organisation of public events
  • Added: “Breakdown of members into Regional Circles (RC)” moved from the main part of the group agreement
• 23.03.2022
  • Added: Recognition of Foodsaving passport from German-speaking countries
  • Added: “3.2. Stepping back from a pickup”
  • Added: Limitation of the number of pickups in the first point under “3.1. Procedure of a pick-up”
  • Added: clarification of regular pickups in the last point under “Responsibilities” under “1.2. Cooperation Manager”