ROTTERDAM, 11 December 2025 – AIR Offices in the Rotterdam city centre will turn its atrium into one long shared lunch table on Tuesday 16 December for The Giving Table, a new nationwide initiative in support of Dutch food banks. Tenants and other companies in the building are invited to sit down together, raise money and reflect on food insecurity in and around the city.
The Giving Table is organised by Use/space in collaboration with the Voedselbank and is being hosted in Rotterdam by AIR Offices in the former V&D/Hudson’s Bay building on Rodezand. During the lunch, people who work in the building and invited guests share a meal while contributing financially to households that depend on food aid. “With AIR Offices we want to show that a premium office building can be more than just a place to work. We are part of the city, and we take that responsibility to give back,” says Eppo Danser, commercial director at Schroders Capital.
Shared Christmas lunch for a cause
The Giving Table is set up as a joint lunch with a live online programme that connects participating office locations throughout the Netherlands. From the atrium on Rodezand, guests follow a broadcast with music, a game element and personal stories from current and former users of the food bank, bringing national themes into a local Rotterdam setting.
According to Helma Beker, chair of the board of Voedselbank Rotterdam, the action reflects what this time of year can stand for: “Together at a long table with volunteers, colleagues, partners, and participants: taking a moment to pay attention to each other and to everyone who could really use it during this period.” The idea is that the lunch offers a concrete way for office workers in the city centre to contribute while also meeting neighbours in the same building.
Fundraising packages and social ambitions
Part of every ticket price goes directly to the food bank, so each participant automatically contributes to extra meals for families who are struggling financially. Companies that want to do more can opt for additional donation packages that translate into warm meals for dozens of families, holiday dinners for children or fresh products for healthy meals. In this way, the lunch combines a relatively simple format with tangible support for people facing rising costs.
The Giving Table fits within the wider social ambitions of AIR Offices, which already makes its spaces available outside office hours free of charge to social and cultural organisations. By hosting the event in a central location between Coolsingel and the Markthal, the building aims to underline its role as an open meeting place for Rotterdam rather than a closed-off corporate environment.
Practical details for participants
The Giving Table takes place on Tuesday 16 December from 12.00 to 13.30 in the atrium of AIR Offices at Rodezand 46–48 in Rotterdam. Companies based in the building and external organisations can sign up in advance, subject to available places at the shared lunch table.
More information about AIR Offices and its activities can be found on air-offices.nl, while background on the work of Dutch food banks is available via the Voedselbank’s own national and local channels. Interested media can also contact the organisers for access during the event.
How to get to AIR Offices
AIR Offices is located on Rodezand in the heart of Rotterdam, a short walk from Beurs, the Coolsingel and the Markthal. The building stands between Hoogstraat and Binnenrotte, in an area with a dense mix of shops, cafés and offices.
Visitors can reach AIR Offices on foot from Rotterdam Blaak station in around five minutes, or via metro and tram stops at Beurs and Blaak. Cyclists can park in nearby bike facilities around the Binnenrotte, while drivers have access to several paid car parks in the immediate area, including garages near the Markthal and the Koopgoot.
