Israel, like many other developed countries, wastes millions of tons of food every year. According to Leket Israel, the major food rescue NGO in the country, more than one third of all the food produced in Israel gets thrown out. To help make a dent in that number, an Israeli start-up, SpareEat, has created a platform app designed to provide bakeries, delis and other food establishments to help sell unsold food at the end of the day which helps prevent their disposal and still enables the stores to make money.
Via the app, users can purchase surprise “mystery” bags of baked goods, sandwiches and produce at heavily discounted prices while still providing the sellers with a profit. What makes SpareEat stand out from other food-savings apps is that the purchaser doesn’t know exactly what they will receive, rather they get a general description of what might be inside as the food establishments don’t really know what might be left over at the end of each day.
As a result it’s a win-win. Food businesses can cut down on their food waste and empty their shelves at the end of the day, which helps the environment, and customers can purchase food at bargain prices, a real plus in the relatively expensive Israeli food market. Currently, SpareEat has 200 business partners in Tel Aviv and other central cities and around 80,000 registered users of the app.
Another unique feature that was intentional was that customers must pick up their purchased food bag in person as there is no delivery option. This in turn increases foot traffic to the various small businesses, potentially helping create new customers, and cuts down on the logistics and additional costs of setting up a delivery service, which is found almost everywhere these days in the food service space.
In November 2023, SpareEat launched a new donation feature together with Yad LaTet (Hand to Give), an organization that helps provide weekly Shabbat meals and equipment to soldiers drafted to fight in the current war, further extending its vision to help businesses, help consumers and help the environment.
Source:
NoCamels