diff --git a/app/__init__.py b/app/__init__.py
index 25ddae2..f8887ba 100644
--- a/app/__init__.py
+++ b/app/__init__.py
@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ def create_app():
 
     # Initialize database tables
     with app.app_context():
+        # Create data directory if it doesn't exist
+        import os
+        db_path = app.config.get('SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI', '')
+        if db_path.startswith('sqlite:///'):
+            db_file_path = db_path.replace('sqlite:///', '')
+            db_dir = os.path.dirname(db_file_path)
+            if db_dir and not os.path.exists(db_dir):
+                os.makedirs(db_dir, exist_ok=True)
+        
         db.create_all()
 
     return app
diff --git a/k8s/deployment.yaml b/k8s/deployment.yaml
index 8ac0d2f..6d44ec8 100644
--- a/k8s/deployment.yaml
+++ b/k8s/deployment.yaml
@@ -35,15 +35,6 @@ spec:
         runAsNonRoot: true
         runAsUser: 1001
         fsGroup: 1001
-      initContainers:
-      - name: init-sqlite
-        image: busybox:1.35
-        command: ['sh', '-c', 'mkdir -p /app/data && chown -R 1001:1001 /app/data']
-        volumeMounts:
-        - name: sqlite-data
-          mountPath: /app/data
-        securityContext:
-          runAsUser: 0  # Run as root for chown
       containers:
       - name: snauw-counter
         image: ${REGISTRY}/${IMAGE_NAME}:${IMAGE_TAG:-latest}