The best apps to combat food waste

APP TO AVOID FOOD WASTE

La technology can be of great help to avoid food waste. Especially when it manages to combine the interests of retailers (who always have surplus food to dispose of, therefore with a cost to bear) with those of consumers (who, at the end of the day, can make a super discounted shopping). Everything online, through a specific application, and with a simple click.

ALSO READ: Food waste: how to reuse leftovers. Tips for not throwing anything away.

THE BEST APPS AGAINST FOOD WASTE

Le app against waste of food They fall into two broad categories: those that serve to create a relationship between the customer and the retailer, and those that connect producers, distributors, and charities. In both cases, you can save a lot of money and avoid wasting still-good food that ends up in the garbage.

APP FOR DONATING FOOD

Here are the best 10 app that offer this type of services:

TOO GOOD TO GO

Literally: too good to be thrown awayIt's the most popular app in the world (15 European countries and the United States), with 38 million users, more than 80 affiliated stores, and 60 million Magic Box sales. The mechanism is basically this: at the end of the day, the retailer, instead of throwing away unsold food that's about to expire, or that they can't keep, sells it below cost. How? By placing it in a Magic Box that the customer collects by the evening: it's a , as the consumer cannot choose the content prepared by the retailer. The only constraint is the price: the discount cannot be less than 30 percent. Even in Italy Too good to go It is now a well-established reality: it is widespread in around fifty cities, with 15 thousand affiliated commercial establishments, and three and a half million registered consumers.

BRING THE FOOD

Bring The Food is an app developed by researchers at the Bruno Kessler Foundation in Trento, in collaboration with the Fondazione Banco Alimentare. Its goal is to recover surplus food from small and large retailers, soup kitchens, and the restaurant industry, making it available to nonprofits and charities that, in turn, donate it to those most in need. Anyone can sign up as a potential "food donor" or "beneficiary."

LAST MINUTE CLOSE TO YOUR HOME

Last minute deals close to home It's a large network that connects consumers ready to seize business opportunities, including food, with retailers interested in preventing unsold food from being wasted. It's all online, and it's free. Consumers simply sign up: they'll then receive offers from local stores directly on their cell phones or smartphones. Then, when the customer is interested in a purchase, they can lock in the offer and go to the store to purchase it. The major advantage for retailers lies not only in terms of sales, thanks to products at risk of waste, but also in the app's underlying effectiveness. It's a technological tool that engages and builds customer loyalty. BestBefore e Phoenix They offer different discount tiers for products with imperfect packaging (and usually end up in the trash), or that are close to their expiration date or even out of stock. The discount ranges from 10 to 50 percent.

MYFOODY

myFOODY is a platform, with an app available for both iOS and Android, that lets you find deals from your local supermarkets, saving up to 50% on your groceries and helping reduce food waste, with obvious environmental benefits. What foods are offered? Those close to their expiration date but still excellent, products with packaging defects, and seasonal foods at risk of being wasted.

UBO

Unfamiliarity with proper food storage rules leads to confusion and uncertainty. Thus, in addition to throwing away food that's actually spoiled because we haven't been able to preserve it properly, we run the risk of wasting food that's actually still good, because we mistakenly believe it might be harmful. With these assumptions in mind, the UBO (UNA BUONA OCCASIONE) awareness initiative was born, with a dedicated portal and app to inform consumers about proper food storage, thus combating food waste. The project was conceived by the Citizen and Consumer Protection Sector of the Piedmont Region and the Commerce Department of the Valle d'Aosta Region, and funded by the Ministry of Economic Development. Collaborating partners include the University of Turin, Slow Food, CinemaAmbiente, the Museo A come Ambiente, and the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Piedmont, Liguria, and Valle d'Aosta. The UBO App provides storage tips for 500 foods, as well as information on their water footprint, nutritional value, and how to reuse leftovers and scraps. There's also information on the seasonality of fruits and vegetables and tips for making a grocery list. An "Ask the Expert" section is also available.

ECHO FROM THE FRIDGE

This web app's anti-waste mechanism isn't upstream of the food sales network, but downstream, when it comes to consumption at the table and we need to avoid cooking things that end up in the garbage. Or, as is quite common in our homes, we need to make a virtue of necessity, that is, organize a good dinner or lunch with the few ingredients we have available. The idea comes from Lucia Pizzini, head of the digital area of ​​the Mission Bambini Foundation: the page is very well organized. It features a rich selection of easy-to-find recipes: just search for the ingredients you want to use.

PUCCIFRIGO

PucciFrigo is an Android app that reminds you of food expiration dates, preventing unnecessary and costly waste. It's simple and intuitive: just write down the name of the food and its expiration date, just like on a piece of paper, to constantly monitor it. Foods appear happy and cheerful when they're still many days away from their expiration date, while they gradually become sadder as the expiration date approaches. Daily notifications alert you to an impending expiration date or remind you to update PucciFrigo with the latest products purchased or consumed.

TKINKABOUT

The producers affiliated with the TkinkAbout platform communicate every day which food products are still good, but destined for the garbage (perhaps simply because they are bruised or close to being spoiled). deadline): from that moment on, they become available to company employees. Delivery is made directly to the company, or to your home, within 2-3 days of ordering. Prices are discounted between 30 and 50 percent.

SPENDING ON TIME

This is also an application that combines two conveniences. shopkeepers avoid wasting leftover food at the end of the day and consumers You can even buy it with a 90 percent discount. Those who sign up to the platform simply enter the radius of their home: they'll then receive offers from the nearest stores directly on their smartphone. All they have to do is proceed with the purchase.

SOY COMIDA PERFECTA APP: HOW IT WORKS

The anti-food waste startup Soy comida perfecta was born from the will of two entrepreneurs, Desiree Taboada, who has always been committed to raising awareness on environmental issues, and Natalia Escolá, to create an online store to sell food products that would otherwise be thrown away. The packages were dented or had labels upside down; the fruits and vegetables were overripe, oddly shaped, or unappealing. as we have explained in this articleFresh and preserved products approaching their expiration date. These are some of the many goods available for purchase on the Spanish platform: all the products that, for various reasons, remain unsold or never reach the point of sale. The basic rule, besides that of not wasting, is one and inviolable: all the foods offered must be healthy and quality.

The operation of Soy comida perfecta It's simple and effective. Once users have identified the product they're interested in directly on the site or through dedicated smartphone apps, they simply proceed with the purchase, which involves discounts up to 80%The shopping can then be picked up in store or conveniently delivered to your home. For now, deliveries are made throughout the city of Barcelona and the Castilian municipality of Castelldefels. The two founding partners plan to gradually expand the network, not only in Spain but also abroad. also in other European countries.

TO LEARN MORE: Foodbusters, the food recovery superheroes from Ancona

Unsold Food App: The Advantages

It's not just the environment that benefits from the initiative, thanks to a reduction in the amount of food that ends up in the garbage. The advantage is also economicConsumers can take advantage of significant discounts that have a positive impact on their food budget.

The startup also has another important goal: educate citizens to consume consciously that makes saving food a lifestyle habit. To achieve this goal, Desiree Taboada organizes conferences, events, and live videos focused on the highly topical issue of food waste.

APP FOR DONATING FOOD

As a result of greater awareness and more responsibility, Italians have also changed their eating habits and significantly reduced food waste. This is certainly thanks to numerous awareness campaigns. But even in our country, technology plays a key role with the spread of portals and apps, specifically designed to combat the needless waste of still-good food and recycle leftovers.

ALL THE TIPS TO AVOID WASTE IN THE KITCHEN

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• Refrigerator: Ten tips for keeping it tidy and preserving food, without wasting it.