Handing out instead of destroying

Billa regards the handling of food to be a great ethical challenge - assuming responsibility for its proper handling is part of everyday routine in the branches and stores. Retail trade always operates between the two poles of fulfilling customers’ wishes and making good use of products which have not been sold.

For more than four years, Bill has been supporting charitable organisations by making financial donations as well as in-kind contributions of food to various Soma stores in Austria or the Team Austria Foodbank. The Soma stores give people with low incomes the opportunity to buy the contributed products at extremely low prices.

The Billa employees are especially active. They help in sales, warehouse work and in picking up the merchandise - without the support of voluntary workers, the Soma stores would not be able to operate. But Billa sales and regional managers are also regular helpers in the cooperation with the Team Austria Foodbank of the Red Cross and work in the sorting and distribution of the food.

Food for the needy

Billa donates to the Soma stores and the Team Austria Foodbank food which cannot be sold, but which is in perfectly good condition and can be eaten, if the packaging has been damaged or if the merchandise comes from overproduction. All of this can be made available to needy people and does not have to be thrown out. More than half of all of the Billa stores in Austria donate food.

People threatened by extreme poverty have the chance either to buy items needed for daily use at a symbolic price in the Soma stores or to obtain them free at one of the Team Austria Foodbank distribution points of the Red Cross.