Sustainable food systems of the future
The online platform “markta” and the sustainable food start-up “Unverschwendet” (“Unwasted” in English) from Vienna show how a city can be sustainably supplied with local products despite a growing population.
Fresh and regional food means a higher quality of life for more and more people in the city, and is therefore becoming increasingly important as an alternative to supermarket products and global trade. This is a good thing, as it helps the local economy and thus local farmers, small businesses and family enterprises. For many people, however, the question often still arises: where can I find these offerings in my neighborhood?
Shopping at a digital farmers’ market
This is where a trip into the digital world is worthwhile: In 2018, Theresa Imre founded “markta” in Vienna, an online farmers’ market for high-quality regional organic products. The platform showcases an extraordinary variety of foodstuffs from local and especially local Viennese suppliers and serves as an interface for short transport routes via mail or pick-up. In addition, a blog ensures “knowledge transfer” between producer and consumer.
markta shows how modern technologies can also be used to create proximity, visibility and awareness. And this is especially important in times of crisis, as Therese Imre emphasizes: “The Corona crisis and sustainability debates show how quickly our purchasing behavior can adapt. Digitization enables efficient decentralized distribution and logistics channels for small and family businesses, while at the same time consumers receive more information and transparency”. It’s a good approach, because “the more production and distribution is embedded in the city, the more directly we can all benefit from a local economy and supply security in times of crisis”, says Imre.
Preserving instead of wasting
As the population grows, the sustainable use of supposedly inferior products becomes increasingly important. This applies in particular to foodstuffs such as fruits and vegetables. Much is left over because it’s not attractive enough for the market or there’s simply too much of it. With “Unverschwendet”, the siblings Cornelia and Andreas Diesenreiter and their team have been giving surplus fruit and vegetables a second chance since 2015. Every year, 100 tons of food are saved from ending up on the dump by processing into jams, syrups, chutneys, sauces and spreads, reports Cornelia Diesenreiter:
“Eco-social justice is only possible if we use existing resources efficiently. Urban production plays a key role in this. The areas around Vienna are rich in resources, but often logistics, communication and other barriers prevent these resources from being used”. “Unverschwendet” wants to counteract this. In order to carry its message beyond the city limits as well, the company relies on cooperation with large partners: only recently, for instance, the Gradwohl bakery produced a spread from over 500,000 kilograms of tomatoes that would otherwise have ended up in landfill. It was used as a filling in spelt rolls (“Stangerl”) and the rolls were distributed exclusively to 186 VIVA branches at the OMV gas stations.
Company:
markta GmbH
Julius Tandler Platz 7/11
1090 Wien
https://markta.at
Services provided by Vienna Business Agency:
- Funded within the program Vienna Online 2020
- Funded within the program Nahversorgung Fokus
- Funded within the program Services
Unverschwendet GmbH
Schwendermarkt Stand 18
1150 Wien
https://unverschwendet.at
Services provided by Vienna Business Agency:
- Funded within the program Vienna Online 20200
- Funded within the program Home Office 2020
- Funded within the program Innovation
- Funded within the program Nahversorgung Fokus
(c) Headerbild Überblick Erfolgsgeschichten: pixabay
As of December 2020