Every year 50,000 tonnes of food is chucked out by cafes, restaurants, and supermarkets. Most of this food is still good to eat.
A new app, Foodprint, has been created to rescue that food and save people money. You can buy this "surplus" food at a discounted price - so it doesn't end up in the landfill.
The app is being launched on Monday and it's already won a competition by the Sustainable Business Network.
Photo: Supplied / Love Food Hate Waste
Founder Michal Garvey says she was inspired to develop the app while living overseas.
“I'd been living overseas seeing the role that technology plays and how we source and purchase and consume our food these days and had seen some similar style apps overseas.
“So yeah, I came home from overseas and decided that I was going to launch Foodprint when I got here.”
Appetite among businesses for the service has been strong. she says.
“The uptake of the businesses who are on board so far has been absolutely phenomenal …. as soon as I walked in most of them they were like sign me up, does this start tomorrow?”
Photo: Supplied/ Foodprint
So far, 50 eateries have signed up for Foodprint, Garvey says.
“It's a way that they can retain some food value with things that otherwise may end up in the bin unfortunately and for them in hospitality, they don't know how busy they're going to be on a certain day, you know anything can happen. So some days are sold out by midday and other days they've got a bunch left.”
She’s definitely not in it to become a millionaire, she says.
“I am a social enterprise and I am really focused on that environmental side of things and reducing food waste. But obviously, I have poured quite a lot into this.
“So, it doesn't cost anything for users to download and it doesn't cost anything for the eateries to join, but when purchases are made I do retain a small percentage.”
Discounts start at 50 percent off and it can go all the way up to 90 percent, Garvey says.
“It’s for the eateries to decide how much they want to discount on a particular day. And usually they'll be driven by how much of a certain item they've got available.”
