Theres plenty of food to go around.
The problem is distributing the surplus food from restaurants, stores, and kitchens to those in need.
“This means more food can be redistributed with a shorter shelf life.”
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A Growing Problem
Hungeris risingin the U.S..
The coronavirus pandemic is contributing to a lack of resources to purchase food, experts say.
To meet the need for food, nonprofits are increasingly turning to software solutions.
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“People buy more than they need and throw away a lot.”
Volunteers Log On
The nonprofitFood Rescue USuses an app for volunteer food rescuers.
Shattuck said the app has allowed her organization to scale to make over 40,000 individual pickups in 2020.
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Food banks are then able to convert $1 into 5 meals.
“It takes just 34 active users to unlock $500 or 2,500 meals per month.
200,000 users acting together, round up $18 million in six months.
But it’s not just a giving app, it’s a triple benefit model.”
Another company,Amp Your Good, is giving the traditional food drive a twist with a crowd-funding mechanism.
Nearly half of the surplus food is in the retail sector.
Her organization helps distribute unneeded food in western Pennsylvania.
“So the question we need to ask ishow do you cost-effectively redirect this food?
Trucks are certainly not the wayyou can’t send a truck to recover one box of sandwiches.
Technology has made a big difference to the efficiency with which perishable food can be redistributed.
The answer to this dilemma for Lizarondos organization came in the form of an app.
The Food Rescue Hero platform was developed specifically to allow organizations to scale food recovery all over the world.
To date, the organization has helped redirect almost 35 million pounds of food over 160,000 trips.
Innovative software is helping bring food to the hungry, but its only part of the solution.
