App aims to help curb food waste
In the U.S. we throw out about 40 percent of the food produced here, according to the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council. The tab? $165 billion.
Restaurants and grocery stores produce tons of food waste—especially between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. One idea that’s in development: An app that would help restaurants sell extra food—that they would have thrown out otherwise—at a big discount. But the app may face some barriers. Food activists are already having trouble trying to get people to buy “ugly produce”— fruit and vegetables that look a little odd. For restaurants, a downside to the discounted food sale could be that it gives people an incentive to wait and buy their food on the cheap. The app’s developer is raising money and hopes to launch “Food for All” in Boston and New York in the New Year.
Click the audio player above to hear the full story.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
