In short, Cent Buttek is an organisation in Luxembourg which takes almost-out-of-date food from shops and distributes it to those in need. The majority of us in Luxembourg who are relatively well off have a duty to those who do not have what they need to live, and Cent Buttek do wonderful work towards making sure that what would otherwise be wasted goes to those who would benefit most. Cent Buttek depend on volunteer workers, and needs funds for its work. I asked Adely Thill-Gross from the organisation for outline of the organisation’s work. If you feel able to help in any way, you can contact Adely (details below)
Thank you,
Fr Ed
“In a country as rich as Luxembourg where most people live in abundance, some don’t even have enough to eat. It is for them that the Cent Butteks exist in Beggen , Bettembourg and Lamadelaine.
The “Cent Buttek” operates in a similar way to “Die Tafeln” in Germany. Founded in 2009 by a group of volunteers, we are supported by supermarkets, bakers, corner shops and other donators. . Financially we can only exist if we get donations, which are used to improve the installation and facilities of the buttek and to buy supplementary food products. For example actually we have to buy a new fridge van. We are staffed only by volunteers, and we have about 230 people working for the Association at the moment.
From Monday to Saturday the volunteers collect the groceries, which are perfectly fine but near to the expiry date an therefore unsalable in regular shops. Once the provisions have been delivered to the Cent Buttek by our drivers, they are sorted by date and prepared for distribution. Certain fruits will be used to prepare jam for the customers of the shop. With our collecting of foods we fulfill a double challenge : we avoid the wasting of them and in distributing them we help people in need.
Functioning of the Cent Buttek in Beggen
The social offices of Luxembourg City and Walferdange decide who they send to us. The financial situation of each family is checked and if it is found to be bad / precarious, they get a written authorization to come to us. We issue the a card on which is our logo, as well as the number of adults and children in their household and the validity of the card.
The situation of the families is regularly reviewed by the Social offices. Should their financial situation improve, no new card is issued.
Our shop in Beggen is open three times a week on Mondays , Wednesdays and Fridays.
The foodstuffs which we cannot use in Beggen are taken by our drivers to our shop in Bettembourg. If they don’t need anything, the stuff is delivered to the foyers for refugees, drug addicts etc….
When we open our shop at 3 pm, about 20 people are waiting outside. The first person arrives already at 12 oclock. They prefer waiting 2 or 3 hours to be the first one in the shop, because, they think, then the choice of the foodstuffs is the greatest at that moment.
They can choose a quantity of foodstuffs in relation to the number of people in their household.
Unlike the other social groceries, where the people have to pay a moderate price for each article purchased, our families pay only 2 Euros per family. We do have families who cannot even pay 2 Euros. In this case, the social office advises us either by making a note on the card, or by sending a letter.
Since August last year we are supported by the Fund for European Aid to the most deprived in providing us with essential food items such as sugar, oil, noodles , and as well with hygienic articles.
In Beggen we have 87 volunteers who work about 340 hours a week.
Last month 171 families needed our help.
Since the opening of the shop in August 2010 to May this year, we distributed approximated 330 tons of foodstuff .
We invite you cordially to visit us in Beggen so that we may have the opportunity to show you our Buttek.
Yours sincerely,
Adely Thill-Gross 621 35 94 49
Cent Buttek Beggen
166, rue de Beggen
L-1220 Luxembourg
International English-Speaking Community of the Parish of Luxembourg Notre Dame 