What Schweizer Tafel does

Schweizer Tafel (legal name: Stiftung Schweizer Tafel; DBA: Table Suisse; previously Stiftung Hoffnung für Menschen in Not) is a Swiss charitable foundation founded in 2001 by Yvonne Kurzmeyer and headquartered at Bahnhofplatz 20, Kerzers. The foundation operates Switzerland's largest independent food-rescue and social-logistics network, collecting surplus but perfectly consumable food from retailers and producers and distributing it free of charge to over 500 social institutions — soup kitchens, homeless shelters, women's shelters, and food distribution points — serving more than 300,000 poverty-affected people annually. Operationally, the foundation runs eight locations (headquarters in Kerzers plus seven regional offices covering Aargau, Mittelland, Nordwestschweiz, Ostschweiz, Romandie, Zentralschweiz, and Zürich) with a refrigerated vehicle fleet executing daily collection-and-distribution routes across more than 550 pallet spaces; in 2025, daily throughput was approximately 35 tonnes and annual throughput reached 8,500+ tonnes (roughly doubled versus 2020), avoiding 14,205 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

The organization is 100% financed through donations and charges social institutions nothing for the food it distributes. Revenue offerings are structured as four named donation products — Lebensmittelretter:in (one-time from CHF 50), Klimaheld:in (monthly from CHF 5), Logistiker:in (one-time from CHF 20) and Alltagsheld:in (monthly from CHF 10) — alongside an ad-hoc Spontanspende portal supporting TWINT, Mastercard, Visa, PostFinance and QR-invoice payments. The supply-side partner base includes major Swiss retailers (Coop, Migros, Lidl, Aldi Suisse, Denner, Coop Pronto) and food producers (Nestlé, Lindt & Sprüngli, Unilever, Danone, Fenaco); corporate financial supporters include the Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Schindler, Planzer Transport AG and UBS Philanthropy Foundation. Operations are powered by a hybrid workforce of paid staff (~20+ identified roles including Managing Director Marc Ingold, Deputy MD Michele Hostettler, and seven Regional Directors), volunteer drivers (Freiwilligenarbeit) and civil-service conscripts (Zivildienst).

Cumulative impact since founding includes 87,000 tonnes of food rescued, approximately 250 million meals enabled, and over 145,000 tonnes of CO2 avoided. The 2025 Tiefkühl-Projekt (deep-frozen logistics) pilot introduced a dedicated freezer-vehicle fleet and partner-provided freezer chests to capture previously wasted frozen SKUs (poultry, fries, ice cream, pastries), with a stated target of extending the capability to all 500+ partner institutions. The affiliated Gönnerverein (donor association, established 2004) raised over CHF 860,000 in 2025 through the annual Suppentag and related campaigns, enabling approximately 1,402 tonnes of food rescue and CHF 10 million in goods value. The foundation is governed by a Stiftungsrat chaired by Alexandra Bally, with Yvonne Kurzmeyer serving as Ehrenpräsidentin.

Name

Schweizer Tafel

Legal name

Stiftung Schweizer Tafel

Website

https://schweizertafel.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Schweizer Tafel is a Swiss charitable foundation operating Switzerland's largest independent food-rescue network, collecting surplus food from retailers and producers and distributing it free of charge to over 500 social institutions serving 300,000+ poverty-affected people annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food rescue and social logistics

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Community Food Services (624210), Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage (49312)

akta.pro primary industry

Refrigerated/Chilled Foods Wholesale (Deli, Prepared, Fresh Pasta, etc.) (AFAIAHAB)

Keywords

• Food rescue services
• Surplus food redistribution
• Social logistics
• Food waste reduction
• Charitable food distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Kerzers

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Schweizer Tafel is 100% financed through donations. This includes regular individual donations, corporate donations, foundation grants, and membership fees from the Gönnerverein (donor association) which raised over CHF 860,000 in 2025.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Schweizer Tafel collects surplus but perfectly consumable food on a daily basis from Swiss retailers and food producers using its own refrigerated vehicle fleet, and redistributes that food free of charge to more than 500 social institutions (soup kitchens, homeless shelters, women's shelters, social centers, and food distribution points) across Switzerland. The foundation is financed entirely through donations and operates from a Kerzers headquarters plus seven regional sites, rescuing approximately 35 tonnes of food daily (8,500+ tonnes annually) and avoiding 14,205 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Product overview

Stiftung Schweizer Tafel operates as a food-rescue and social logistics organization — not a technology company — structured around a single core operational service: the daily collection of surplus but perfectly consumable food from retailers and producers via a fleet of refrigerated vehicles, and its distribution to over 500 social institutions across Switzerland. The core service is powered by 8 operational locations (1 headquarters in Kerzers and 7 regional sites across the country) and is funded entirely through donations. The primary revenue offerings are four named donation products: Lebensmittelretter:in (one-time, from CHF 50) and Klimaheld:in (monthly, from CHF 5) for food rescue impact; Logistiker:in (from CHF 20 one-time) and Alltagsheld:in (monthly, from CHF 10) for transport/food distribution support. Additional offerings include a Spontanspende (ad-hoc online donation portal) with multiple payment methods; a corporate Produkte Spenden program enabling businesses to donate surplus food; volunteer driver/co-driver programs (both Freiwilligenarbeit for private individuals and Zivildienst for civil service participants); the Gönnerverein affiliated donor association; the Tafelpost and Jahresbericht publications; and a Tiefkühllogistik (deep-frozen logistics) service added in 2025. The Tag der guten Tat campaign is a collaborative initiative with Coop, not a standalone product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 8,500+ tonnes of food rescued annually - doubled since 2020
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CoopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor retail partner providing surplus food products. Also partners on the Tag der guten Tat initiative.
• MigroscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor retail partner providing surplus food products for redistribution to social institutions.
• Aldi SuissecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetail partner providing surplus food products for the food rescue operations.
• LidlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetail partner providing surplus food products.
• DennercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetail partner providing surplus food products.
• CaritasminorOthersSocial organization partner working together to fight poverty in Switzerland.
• Heilsarmee (Salvation Army)minorOthersSocial institution partner receiving food supplies and cooperating in poverty relief efforts.
• Tischlein Deck DichminorOthersPartner organization also working against food waste and poverty.
• FenacominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural cooperative providing surplus food products.
• NestléminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood producer providing surplus products for redistribution.
• Lindt & SprüngliminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChocolate producer providing surplus products.
• UnileverminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsumer goods company providing surplus food products.
• DanoneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDairy and nutrition company providing surplus products.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Too Good To Go: Commercial food waste app operating across Europe that connects consumers directly to surplus food from retailers and restaurants. Overlaps with Schweizer Tafel's mission of reducing food waste but uses a consumer-facing marketplace model rather than institutional redistribution.
• FareShare: UK-based charity that rescues surplus food and redistributes it to charities and community groups. Closely comparable mission and operational model to Schweizer Tafel, serving social institutions with redistributed food across a national footprint.
• Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel: Umbrella organization of the German Tafel food banks, the largest food rescue network in Europe. Operates the same 'collect surplus food and distribute to social institutions' model as Schweizer Tafel, just at much larger geographic scale across Germany.
• FoodCloud: Ireland-founded food redistribution organization connecting retailers with charities via a tech-enabled platform. Operates the same surplus-to-charity redistribution model as Schweizer Tafel, but with a heavier technology overlay.
• Second Harvest: Canada's largest food rescue charity, operating a national food rescue and redistribution network. Same charitable food rescue and distribution model as Schweizer Tafel, but serving a country-scale market.
• Tischlein Deck Dich: Swiss food rescue charity operating in the same charitable food redistribution model. Named as a cooperation partner of Schweizer Tafel, the two organizations share the same donor pool, similar institutional customers, and directly comparable operational approach.

Emerging players

• Olio: Food sharing app connecting neighbors and businesses to share surplus food. Operates in the same food waste / food rescue thematic space as Schweizer Tafel but uses a peer-to-peer consumer model rather than the institutional redistribution model.

Broad incumbents

• Feeding America: Largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, operating a nationwide network of food banks. Same fundamental food rescue and redistribution mission as Schweizer Tafel, but at significantly larger scale and with broader portfolio of programs beyond logistics.

Others

• Caritas Schweiz: Swiss branch of the Caritas International humanitarian network, cited as a cooperation partner of Schweizer Tafel. Comparable in addressing poverty in Switzerland, but operates broader social services rather than specializing in food rescue logistics.
• European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA): Umbrella organization representing European food banks including direct peers like Tafel Deutschland. Thematically and structurally relevant to Schweizer Tafel as an industry body for the European food rescue sector.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Schweizer Tafel