Sustainability meets social commitment: In the solidarity AdA canteen in Frankfurt, volunteers cook meals for the homeless from rescued food. A visit to a slightly different district get-together.

From Selina Rust

Janosch stands at the sink and takes a very close look at each carrot. Turn it to the right, to the left. Like all foods used in the AdA canteen, these carrots would actually have ended up in the trash. Here even the pods are still used for a vegetable broth.

“We’d definitely sort these out too,” he says, pointing to a moldy spot on a carrot. “If the peel is already dark, then we will no longer use it for a broth. But underneath, this carrot will definitely look absolutely good.” And that’s how it is.

In his black kitchen outfit, the 33-year-old looks like a professional chef. In fact, only cooks in the AdA canteen on weekends. His full name is Jan Hoffmann and works full-time for the professional fire brigade.

He has been involved in the AdA canteen since November 2020. The abbreviation stands for Academy of Work, in whose former rooms in Frankfurt-Bockenheim the helpers cook. “Helping people who are not on the sunny side of life is definitely a matter close to my heart,” says Janosch: “Not at all for any Samaritan reasons, but because I always feel sorry when you walk past people who have nothing hot to eat. And on the other hand, we throw away food. “

Janosch is a vegetarian, like most of the people here – out of political conviction. That is why there is only vegan or vegetarian food in the AdA canteen.

The helpers are dependent on donations. Every Thursday there is a large delivery of groceries: Then they receive leftover and rescued groceries from the food bank, food sharers or private donors. In addition, the group picks up fruit and vegetables from the producers at the market at the Konstablerwache in the evening before they throw away their unsold goods.

The volunteers cook free three-course meals four times a week, from Friday to Monday. Every day they hand out food to about 150 people.

The idea behind this solidarity kitchen is to offer a point of contact for the whole neighborhood, a neighborhood café for everyone. Everyone should get into conversation here and feel like they are in a restaurant. The guests sit in tents in the inner courtyard and are served there. The cutlery is rolled up in serviettes – that too has to do with dignity.

Especially people who don’t have enough money for healthy, warm food take advantage of this offer. Some are homeless, others are sick. Many relate to basic security or just a small pension. Like Dorothea. The 76-year-old looks very chic in her fur coat. But she is here too because there is not enough money at the end of the month.

“I’m alone, married twice and got divorced because there were reasons,” she says. She worked all her life, in old age she now collected returnable bottles. “I’m not ashamed of that,” she says. But the fact that it is often so difficult to make ends meet with a small pension makes her sad. “Strong women secretly cry, I always say to myself. I don’t show it to the outside world.”

The contacts to people like Dorothea are also Katharina Stofft’s motivation to help with the AdA canteen. The 22-year-old law student serves around 150 meals a day here every weekend. “If you are only in this law bubble, it will never occur to you that there is homelessness. Because we all come from a more or less privileged world, ”says Katharina. “Here you get a completely different view of the world.”

The approximately 150 volunteer helpers see themselves as a grassroots democratic collective that wants to rethink urban society. Whether you are a lawyer, a punk or an old 68er, this is where people come together who have a common political vision. “It’s about the idea of ​​solidarity,” says Janosch: “Away from individual interests and towards collective interests.” This year, the AdA canteen received the “Wir ist Plural” democracy prize from the Federal Agency for Civic Education for its social and sustainable commitment.

Four hours after duty, Janosch stands at a single start of the roaster and turns kilos of carrots, peppers and broccoli cut into small pieces. He and five other volunteers prepared the meal today. Nobody is the head chef here, flat hierarchies and equality are important to everyone. There are no recipes; people improvise here every day.

Today there is pumpkin soup, baked potatoes with vegetable sauce and apple pie. 150 people should be full of it right away. Janosch takes one last look out of the window before bringing out the food. The first guests are already in line at the entrance.

“I think that’s the most sensible thing you can do,” says Janosch with a hearty laugh. “And if that takes place with saved food, then that’s perfect!”