There's a new app in the food world and it could be the next big thing. If you love the environment and want to find a way to solve bigger world problems such as limiting the amount of food waste that exists in our world, this app is the app for you. If you are just a food lover who wants good quality restaurant food for less, because you are a poor college student like me, this app is also for you. But enough about who this app is for, let's give you a snapshot into the future of the food world.
When Pigs Fly:
I honestly never thought that this day would ever come-- I mean think about it, when I hear the phrase recycled food I picture eating other people’s food that they did not finish at restaurants. You do not have to be a germophobic person to realize that there is nothing sanitary about that idea at all. However, a company called Food for All created a Kickstarter campaign for a new food app in which you can donate money towards the creation of this app to make it available worldwide. They are currently at $16,095 and 442 people have pledged their allegiance to this app becoming a reality. There are less than 21 days left in this fundraising period (the deadline is December 8, 2016). Their goal is to raise $50,000 and they are well on their way to becoming funded but they need our help.
What the App Does:
Food for All allows you to buy food that the restaurants partnering with this prototype thus far do not supply to their customers by the end of a work day. As an added bonus besides helping reduce the wasting of food in our country is that you can get these “leftovers” for anywhere up to 80% off. Now THAT is a big discount on food and who does not like getting good quality food from well known restaurants for less?
How the App Works:
Still confused about how the app works? We can help you with that, the app is simple to use with only a few steps (all of which you can even do without leaving your Netflix binges except for actually picking up your food but hey if the app gets enough funding maybe they will pair up with Grubhub or other apps that will deliver food straight to you). After you download and open the app it will ask you to enter your current location. Then the app will use your location to track down local deals for you and then you can decide out of the participating restaurants which place you want to get your “leftovers” from. Once you select the restaurant that you wish to buy from, it will show you the menu items that they did not sell out of for the day and you can choose from any of those options. After you purchase your food through the app you will be given a confirmation message which you show the cashier at the restaurant. Included with your confirmation message you will receive a time in which you should pick up your food from the place you chose which is right before the restaurant closes for the night.
Their Mission:
Food for All is trying to inform the public about the issue that our country faces regarding excessive food waste and how they can reduce this issue by using and supporting their app. Their app allows people to buy the food which the restaurant, bakery, etcetera did not sell by the end of the day making the food "leftovers" for less money. In order for their wish to help reduce the food waste of the world they need your support to make this app a reality.
Food for All has a three pronged system of how to attack the issue at hand: help, save, and eat. For help they are trying to stop the increasing amount of wasted food that is being added to landfills. For save, they want to save you money by letting you purchase meals up to 80% less than the normal price. For eat, they want to give you good quality food while making a change to the environment for the better.
What are they up to now:
Currently, they only have a prototype of this app which they created with their focus group (made up of potential users and restaurants, 30+ in Cambridge, Massachusetts). This Kickstarter campaign will allow them to complete the app, validate the business model, and launch the app officially in July 2017 starting in Boston and New York City.
Where is this App Headed and How you can Help:
Their goals after launching the app in Boston and New York City by 2017, are to open up third and fourth cities chosen by where the next most amount of supporters are from also in 2017.
If you want to get behind the future of the food industry you can pledge with or without rewards that include things such as being on their wall of fame, or saving a certain amount of meals which you can either get yourself or donate to someone in need, and etcetera.
In the US, 40% of all food that is manufactured is wasted which is equivalent to more than 133 billion pounds of food per year- now that is a lot of food. This app if it becomes a reality will not only reduce that number but also give you good quality food for less. That is a win-win scenario, changing the world for the better and good quality food for less. Recycled food from restaurants can be the next trend in the food world which not only helps reduce our food waste as a country but also helps those in need. This app can only be a reality if we all jump on the bandwagon to help out.
Looking for other ways to reduce your food waste? Check out this link to find out more.