While most retired CEOs may spend their time on the golf course, Hansjörg Dettwiler prefers this refrigerated van. Twice a week, he gets up at six in the morning to volunteer for Swiss Tables, an organization that delivers surplus groceries to the poor. Three years ago, Dettwiler was approached by another retired CEO, his friend and neighbour, Hans Fischer. Considering themselves to be lucky, the two of them decided they wanted to give something back to their community.

HANSJÖRG DETTWILER: It was the end of 2005. We met Hans my neighbour in his very nice house. And we were drinking a glass of wine. And then we started talking about what we were going to do and so on. And then we came to a subject saying we’d like to do something for the others in terms of charity. He said he had heard of this concept called Swiss Tables, Les Tables Suisses, and then we were discussing this a little bit and then we shook hands and decided to organize this regional organization.

Now the two retirees run the Vaud branch of Swiss Tables. The non-profit organization has 27 delivery vans in operation across the country. And today I tag along on one of the runs.

We begin by filling up the empty van with cartons of groceries. Food that would otherwise be thrown out by local grocery stores is kept for Dettwiler to pick up. This includes items that have reached their sell-by date, but NOT their consumption date, as well as produce that the stores have overstocked on.

DETTWILER: You see this is perfect. The selling date has passed but not the consumption date.

Dettwiler tells me how shocked he and his friends were to discover the amount of food going to waste.

DETTWILER: We have from our foundation statistics or research that has been done in England and in Switzerland telling us that in Switzerland, which is a small country, about 250,000 tons per year are thrown away of food. Out of this 250,000 tons is about 25,000 tons of food which is perfectly consumable. So this is quite a big quantity. And you see what it means a society of consumption when you see this. So what we try to build is a bridge between and the need. That’s what we do, and we just ensure the logistics of this.

Out of the 25,000 tons of consumable food thrown out every year, Swiss Tables recuperates two and a half thousand tons. All of it is safe to eat, and in fact, it all looks very much like something a normal consumer would pick off the shelf. But what’s even more staggering is the range of organizations that this food helps. Over five hundred associations helping those in need receive regular deliveries.

On this particular run, Dettwiler makes drops at nine such institutions. Our first delivery is to a community center for those suffering from drug addictions. Then it’s off to a church-run group for the needy. Then a nursery for children of disadvantaged families. There are shipments for those who help the unemployed, asylum seekers, children, the elderly, the handicapped and so on and so forth. Dettwiler has made many friends delivering food to each of the organizations. He tells me that before doing this work, he hadn’t realized just how many underprivileged people there are right outside of his doorstep.

DETTWILER: The number of disadvantaged people, I mean, I can’t tell you. It varies from region to region, but it’s considerable. Even in small, rich Switzerland, this exists. We have to be aware of this.

At about five in the evening we reach our last drop. The volunteers at Cartons du Coeur sort and distribute the food to needy families in Yverdon. Vincent Grobet runs the charity.

VINCENT GROBET: Before Swiss Tables existed, we needed a lot more money, and we had to find many other sources of funding just to be able to make deliveries. Now we have peace of mind because of them. They give us a form of security.

At the end of the day the van is once again empty. And though our arms are tired, none of the food has gone to waste.

DETTWILER: Well, it’s a big satisfaction to do this work. I mean, to take this surplus food and bring it to organizations that prepare meals or distribute part of it to people that really need it – you have seen today that it’s quite a big variety of people that are in need for various reasons – to help them I think is the biggest satisfaction. So at the end of the day, you come back tired but happy because you have done something that makes sense and very concrete.

Swiss Tables relies on volunteers and private donations. If you would like to find out more about this organization, a link to their website can be found below.

Amy Wong, World Radio Switzerland, in and around the Canton of Vaud.