Digital food sharing initiatives

Photo: Klaus Sletting
This solution was shared by Stop Wasting Food movement IFSS research team
08 June 2021

Description of the innovative solution

Globally, food is wasted at field-level but also in supermarkets, restaurants, office canteens, private homes and even in gardens where unwanted fruit and vegetables go rotten. This solution focuses on initiatives fighting and preventing food waste by leveraging digital platforms such as social media, smartphone apps and websites. Many of these are volunteer-led initiatives and free of charge or associated to limited costs. Food sharing platforms allow individuals and businesses (e.g. retailers, producers, local shops) to connect and share surplus food to other platform users. Many different...

Globally, food is wasted at field-level but also in supermarkets, restaurants, office canteens, private homes and even in gardens where unwanted fruit and vegetables go rotten. This solution focuses on initiatives fighting and preventing food waste by leveraging digital platforms such as social media, smartphone apps and websites. Many of these are volunteer-led initiatives and free of charge or associated to limited costs. Food sharing platforms allow individuals and businesses (e.g. retailers, producers, local shops) to connect and share surplus food to other platform users. Many different initiatives have emerged in recent years with different target groups e.g individuals sharing food amongst them or supermarkets sharing surplus food with civic organisations.

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Examples and additional resources

Real-world examples

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Free Food Platform by the Stop Wasting Food movement
FoodCloud
Food Forward SA
Free Food Platform by the Stop Wasting Food movement
Project information

Easily accessible, free digital nationwide platform, which makes it easy for Danes in food poverty, ie. poor families, the homeless people and other socially disadvantaged, to get an easy and quick access to free surplus food in their local areas.

Denmark
Shared by Stop Wasting Food movement
FoodCloud
Business information

Irish startup connecting retailers with surplus food to community groups and charities, also offering gleaning services and recovered food products.

Ireland
Shared by IFSS Research Team
Food Forward SA
Business information

Food Forward SA's virtual food banking platform FoodShare, which connects local retailers and food outlets with excess food for distribution.

South Africa
Shared by IFSS Research Team
OLIO
Business information

OLIO is an app to connect community members and businesses as a way to share food and prevent waste.

worldwide
Shared by IFSS Research Team
Freshi
Project information

Smallholder farmers face countless challenges – a limited market, produce wastage, and limited access to sources of agricultural productivity. Freshi uses a re-seller model that directly involves Tanzanian smallholder farmers in its business model while optimizing the local value chain. As an innovative farm to fork platform, Freshi provides farmers access to a larger market of household consumers, addressing harvest waste that is catalyzed by an inefficient supply chain in the agribusiness ecosystem.

Tanzania, United Republic of
Shared by Freshi

Additional resources

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Potential of food sharing initiatives
News article, popular press or blog post
Article on the potentials and limitations of current digital food sharing initiatives, citing many existing organizations as case studies.
Shared by IFSS Research Team
Share City
Other
Database of various organizations within over 100 cities worldwide involved in food sharing initiatives, including raw products, meals, and equipment.
Shared by IFSS Research Team
Key factors for food-sharing platforms
Scientific paper
Paper on important factors for consumer behavior in regards to digital food-sharing platforms using data from OLIO users.
Shared by IFSS Research Team
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Shared by Freshi

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