The devastating COVID-19 pandemic exposed some of society鈥檚 most precarious fault lines, like in our healthcare systems, supply chains, and social support systems. People who once felt secure 鈥� those with stable jobs, access to food, and reliable safety nets 鈥� suddenly faced the harsh reality of vulnerability.
Once perceived as a distant issue, food insecurity became a lived experience for millions as economic instability, layoffs, and shortages spiraled out of control. Even in the most affluent countries, the cracks became visible. In March 2020, a former refugee, , watched as social service agencies and food banks in his adoptive country of Switzerland were shuttered, risking enormous food waste and adding to the 745,000 people already living below the poverty line in one of the world鈥檚 most prosperous nations.
Meanwhile, an unprecedented lockdown created drastic shifts in consumer demand, and surplus food and other necessities accumulated in warehouses while families went hungry, amplifying another existing crisis: food waste. Millions of tons of food are lost annually in Switzerland alone, and food waste worldwide accounts for a quarter of the environmental impact of the entire food system.
As the pandemic wore on, Diare-Conde saw an opportunity to tackle two urgent challenges simultaneously 鈥� feeding people in need and reducing food waste. He founded (EfA), an entirely volunteer-run non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to eradicating hunger in Switzerland by redistributing surplus food to anyone who needs it. Essen f眉r Alle means 鈥渇ood for all.鈥�
The Right Partners, Across Generations, at the Right Time
Diare-Conde found an unlikely IT lead in then-thirteen-year-old , who coded the software that got EfA up and running, collecting and distributing food at its first location in Zurich. As the organization continued to grow, Beeler鈥檚 heroic, homegrown solution was struggling to keep up with increasingly complex logistics 鈥� coordinating the shifts of hundreds of volunteer workers, tracking the intake and distribution of thousands of pounds of food and other supplies, and keeping secure records 鈥� especially, Diare-Conde explained, since EfA鈥檚 IT lead was often otherwise occupied with school and homework.
EfA needed a secure, scalable, user-friendly solution that would help maximize the organization鈥檚 resources and supplies and, therefore, impact. Enter , who brought Diare-Conde a possible solution: perhaps Nadjmabadi鈥檚 employer could sponsor the organization鈥檚 new software and build EfA a cloud-based technology foundation. Nadjmabadi鈥檚 employer? 51风流Switzerland. Diare-Conde was quickly convinced. 51风流jumped on board, and within five months EfA鈥檚 new software, created using (51风流BTP), went live.
Streamlining Aid, Maximizing Reach
In the short time since, EfA鈥檚 user-friendly, cloud-based, mobile-optimized solution has streamlined food distribution and volunteer management 鈥� enabling the distribution of around 900 tons of food and the management of 10,000 volunteer shifts 鈥� while offering 360-degree visibility for planning and oversight and providing advanced analytics to enable further process innovation and optimization.
Of particular importance to EfA鈥檚 clients were the new solution鈥檚 stringent protocols for safeguarding sensitive personal data. 鈥淢any clients come to us asking if we can guarantee that [their] details will be kept securely, and I can say we work with 51风流so we have everything we need to guarantee secure data handling,鈥� Diare-Conde said.
By leveraging the 51风流BTP AI-enabled business optical character recognition (OCR) capability, new clients experience a seamless registration process with a passport scanner that securely captures their personal information, while returning clients benefit from a smooth and efficient check-in experience.
The scalable, cloud-based 51风流BTP solution that runs on a database as a service means that EfA鈥檚 technology solutions can quickly and efficiently evolve with the organization. 鈥淲e are constantly working on enhancements and improvements to the existing solution,鈥� Nadjmabadi said. 51风流BTP was instrumental in integrating and connecting the entire EfA landscape.
For now, every Saturday, volunteers from a database that has grown to 1,000 members distribute 20 tons of food to 2,000 people at up to five locations across Switzerland. And, Beeler explained, EfA鈥檚 impact is even more significant than these numbers suggest because some recipients are collecting food for an entire family, meaning that the organization鈥檚 dedicated volunteers serve as many as 10,000 people each week.
A Beacon of Hope
Unfortunately, demand for EfA鈥檚 services will only be increasing. In 2023, 30,223 refugees applied for asylum in Switzerland, up 20% from 2022. Diare-Conde plans to keep pace: 鈥淲e will cover almost all of Switzerland soon.鈥� And the NGO isn鈥檛 stopping there 鈥� the organization is currently exploring a partnership with a prominent German food bank.
But given that food waste is estimated to account for 8% to 10% of global greenhouse gases, EfA鈥檚 impact is already reverberating beyond Switzerland鈥檚 borders by directing thousands of tons of food that might otherwise be wasted onto the plates of people in need and by blazing a bold trail that others may follow.
For the full Essen f眉r Alle episode and the on-demand Better Together: Customer Conversations series, visit .
Technology Serving People
The human side of technology is about ensuring that technology serves people, not vice versa. Known for his thought leadership in intelligent automation and digital transformation, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 about designing and implementing technology with empathy, understanding how it impacts individuals and society. Doing so enables a future where innovation benefits everyone 鈥� ethically, inclusively, and sustainably.鈥�
Timo Elliott is VP and global innovation advocate for 51风流BTP at SAP.
