A Sneak Peak Into Food For All: An App To Combat Food Wastage

Do you ever wonder what happens to all the left over food at restaurants? More often than not it goes to waste. And that’s a shame. With hunger and environmental issues on the rise, food wastage is becoming a problem in dire need of a solution. Meet David Rodriguez, the man behind the idea of ‘Food For All’ – a new app that would let you buy food restaurants have left over just before they close for the night. 

Just to clarify, you won’t be buying someone else’s leftovers, but rather food that didn’t sell, which restaurants otherwise would throw away. This new app is still being developed, and once it is done, will allow you to enter your location and choose from restaurants near you, where you can schedule a pickup. Though there is no menu, or fixed price for the food ordered through this app, restaurants offer 50% to 80% off, so you definitely will be happy to get whatever is on offer.

The Idea behind Food For All

David Rodriguez. founder of Food For All, began developing the app while finishing his MBA at Hult International Business School, in Cambridge, MA. When talking about how he came up with the idea, he said, “My family back in Mexico comes from the hospitality business. I saw how much food was wasted in hotels, restaurants and venues and I wanted to do something about it.” 

The Environmental Impact of Food Wastage

Restaurants, caterers, and other vendors in the U.S. throw away about 43 billion pounds of food every year. This waste has a significant environmental impact — from the natural resources spent producing this food for no reason to the transport and disposal of unused food in landfills. In order to combat this, there are ongoing efforts such as New York City’s City Harvest, which picks up leftover food from restaurants, bakeries, and supermarkets and delivers it to food banks. But Rodriguez feels this is not enough, and started work on the app in hope of helping the food crisis situation more proactively.

The App Launch

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Sustainable Technologies and Health Program has collaborated with Rodriguez on the app, which is in beta testing at restaurants in Cambridge. The Kickstarter campaign hopes to finish the product in time to launch in Boston and New York by July 2017. You can also back the app, and help funding it at the app’s kickstarter page.`