Lina is a 22-year-old multimedia designer from Lithuania living in Denmark. She is a professional hitchhiker, traveler, dreamer, and burner. She runs several art and community projects at Institut for(X) in Aarhus, Denmark. Among other projects, she started Aarhus Burns and “Foodsharing” Aarhus.
Lina was selected for the project “European Youth at the frontlines of active citizenship: A Roadmap towards a collective South-North-East-West Momentum” organized by Volunteers Centre Skopje and supported by European Commission due to Erasmus+ European Youth Together programme.
What is Foodsharing Aarhus?
– “Foodsharing” Aarhus is a grass roots initiative that started in Germany and expanded in various cities across Europe. It is a community of people who care about the environment and want to reduce food waste. We use surplus food from supermarkets that can no longer be sold, but is still in perfect edible condition as a resource to create social link and community. For now, we have an agreement with a supermarket in Aarhus called Rema1000 to collect their food surplus. We receive two big boxes of food every Monday. We have a group of 10 volunteers in the core team that meet up every week to collect the food and give it away. We also have a partnership with Café Mellemfolk in the center of Aarhus, where we meet up and distribute the food.
What is the goal of your project?
– Our goal is to bring awareness about food waste through educative workshops and promote a resourceful life – waste less, and do more with less. We also want to influence policies: our hope is that one day it will be mandatory for stores to donate food surplus instead of throwing it away. We are using the power and ability that food has of bringing people together, creating a network that can be a catalyzer for other projects.
Why did you want to start this project?
– I have been a volunteer at “Foodsharing” Copenhagen a few months ago, and it was a great experience! All this food comes from somewhere. It has been made thanks to the hard work of many people around the world, using a lot of resources. I believe that we have to honor that work, wasting it is disrespectful and unsustainable. I don’t support the consumerist societies we live in. If we reduce waste, we could feed the whole planet! There are enough resources, we just don’t know how to take care of them.
Lina Staškevičiūtė