FoodCloud.ie is a community-based social enterprise start-up in Dublin, Ireland, that brings food businesses and charities together, matching those with too much food with those who have too little. Since 2013, FoodCloud has been able to shift an equivalent of 325,000 meals (148 tonnes) of destined food waste to community charities. Co-founder Iseult Ward (left in photo) tells us more:
Can you describe FoodCloud and how it began?
FoodCloud is a social enterprise in Dublin, Ireland, that brings businesses and charities together to solve the problems of food waste and food poverty in their communities by matching those with too much food with those who have too little. Using a smartphone app, businesses notify registered charities of excess food available and the charities then accept and collect what they need on a daily basis.
How long did it take to build FoodCloud?
Development of FoodCloud started in February 2012 when I met co-founder Aoibheann O’Brien during University at Trinity College Dublin. We connected over a shared passion for food and became increasingly aware of the scale and consequences of the problem of food waste globally –and saw an opportunity to take action in Ireland. We were aware that within our own communities, food businesses were throwing away good food, while charities just around the corner were struggling to provide food for those who needed it most.
We started trying to address this by matching businesses with nearby charities through phone calls and meetings. We quickly realised that to be successful, the process would need to be more efficient. Through the application of a mobile technology, we created a solution for Ireland, and FoodCloud was born!
FoodCloud was first supported by TCD Enactus, a college branch of the international Enactus community that promotes sustainability through entrepreneurial action. The enterprise then progressed into Trinity Launchbox, a three-month incubator which provides funding, space, and mentoring for college start-ups. From there FoodCloud progressed into NDRC’s Launchpad, another three month incubator and won the Arthur Guinness Projects in 2013. During this time FoodCloud launched a pilot with major food retailer Tesco in Dublin City Centre using the new app in October 2013, and then quickly began signing on more stores. In 2014 FoodCloud was awarded a grant by the EPA and also won the Green Entrepreneurs Award. Most recently, FoodCloud was selected as a Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Impact Award Winner.
Tesco have now become FoodCloud’s first national partner and FoodCloud is now rolling out to their 147 stores across Ireland. FoodCloud is also working with Starbucks, Fresh the Good Food Market and small bakeries.
Are there other community-based social enterprises like this in Ireland or elsewhere?
FoodCloud is a virtual food bank that connects businesses and charities within communities. This low-cost technological solution makes the surplus food redistribution process fast and efficient, especially necessary considering the perishable nature of most food products, and is not as capital intensive as the more traditional physical food banks. This service using a mobile application, is not available in Ireland or in the majority of EU countries. A similar service has recently been made available in the US by Zeropercent in Illinois and FlashFood in Arizona.
Traditionally food banks source donations from the distribution, manufacturing and production stage of the food supply chain. FoodCloud is the first solution in Ireland and across the EU that targets retail level waste where donations tend to be of a higher frequency, in smaller quantities and can be perishable (i.e. bakery products, fresh fruit and veg or stock with one or two days to go before use by dates) which does not suit the food bank model.
Within communities food businesses frequently experience food surpluses, as a consequence of the modern food system, while charities struggle to provide food for those who need it most. By working at a retail level within communities FoodCloud ensures that supplies of surplus food can be redistributed as close to the source as possible and therefore satisfies the waste management proximity principle and helps businesses and charities within communities to work together to solve the social and environmental problems associated with food waste and food poverty. FoodCloud also helps to reduce the food costs of charitable organisations and allows them to enhance their service offering.
The biggest challenge to overcome has been …
The perceived and actual risks in relation to food safety and liability have presented significant challenges in establishing FoodCloud. Countries such as the US, Canada and Australia have enacted Good Samaritan food donation laws to alleviate these concerns and encourage the donation of surplus food. Unfortunately there is no such legal instrument in Ireland. FoodCloud have worked with bodies such as the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and legal firms to create a legal framework to manage and mitigate this risk.
In your opinion, what has been the secret for success of FoodCloud?
The scale and consequences of the problems associated with food waste are starting to get more recognition. The European Parliament adopted a resolution in 2012 calling for urgent measures to halve food waste by 2025 and to improve access to food for those in need. In late 2013, retailers were put under increasing pressure to act after Tesco UK admitted it generated 28,500 tons of food waste at its stores and distribution centres in the first six months of the year alone. These actions have all served to raise awareness of the problem across media, governments, businesses and consumers and have helped with FoodCloud’s initial success.
More recently the secret to our success has been our very passionate and committed team. They are working hard to expand FoodCloud across Ireland and support our networks of businesses and charities. Without them we would not be where we are today.
How easy/ difficult has it been to change the mindset of food businesses to adopt this new behaviour?
Anyone that works closely with food usually hates to see it going to waste. Most businesses are very keen to find a solution for their surplus food that feeds people and not bins! The major barrier for a business in donating food is normally a fear of food safety. FoodCloud have been working closely with organisations such as the Food Safety Authority to help businesses overcome this barrier.
What difference is FoodCloud making to the community?
FoodCloud has now redistributed 148 tonnes of food, that is the equivalent of 327,000 meals to over 200 charities in 18 counties across Ireland. As the first retailer to come on board, Tesco have 80 of their stores donating and we are signing on new stores every week and this month we started working with new businesses in Cork and Limerick.
Our network of charities are always finding innovative ways to maximize the potential of this new supply of surplus food. For example, some of our partner youth clubs have started making smoothies for their breakfast clubs using fruit that is donated. And another great story we heard was of a charity holding a food tasting event where they served falafel that was donated to people who had never tried it before.
They are also learning from each other and sharing best practices and even sharing food. For example, one of our partner charities received two crates of grapefruits as part of a donation. They were not sure what they could do with so many grapefruits so they reached out to their network of local charities. One charity decided they would make grapefruit jam and then they recirculated it amongst the other charities.
What advice can you share about building the right team?
Find people that are passionate about what you do and who have the skills that you need that you don’t have!
What is one big piece of advice you could give to social entrepreneurs?
Make sure you understand the problem you are trying to solve. There is a difference between simply recognizing a problem and truly understanding it. The more in-depth knowledge you have of the problem you are trying to solve the better your solution will be and the greater the impact you will have.
FoodCloud by numbers:
Funding to Date: €205,000
Present Number of Food Businesses Participating: 90
Present Number of Charities Participating: 200
Quantity of Food Being Recycled Daily: 148 tonnes since October 2013 – Over 1 ton per night at the moment
Where FoodCloud is presently operating: FoodCloud is operating in 18 counties in Ireland
Number of FoodCloud staff: 6 full time staff
