Flashfood presents food waste impact report at ReFED 2023

Toronto-based Flashfood has released its first annual impact report: The State of Food Waste at the ReFED 2023 Food Waste Solutions Summit taking place May 16-18 in St. Louis, Missouri.

The report examines the role of food waste in the climate crisis and how reducing waste at the retail level has the potential to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, slow climate change and address the connected problems of hunger and food insecurity.

“Retailers play an especially important role because they sit at the center of the food system and have so much opportunity to influence the supply chain upstream and downstream,” says Dana Gunders, executive director of the national food waste nonprofit ReFED, in the report. “By implementing waste reduction solutions in their operations, retailers can not only benefit their bottom lines, but they can show their customers and partners what’s possible.”

Flashfood is a technology company working to eliminate retail food waste by connecting consumers with discounted food nearing its best-by date. The app-based marketplace helps families access nutritious food at affordable prices while reducing the volume of food retailers send to landfills. Flashfood is a remote-first company currently partnered with more than 1,700 partner stores across North America.

“At Flashfood, we believe everyone deserves to eat healthy, affordable food and to live on a thriving planet. Food waste stands in the way of both,” Flashfood founder and CEO Josh Domingues says. “That’s why we’re setting our sights on massive expansion this year: to be available in more places and at more stores with the goal of saving our consumers money on groceries and rescuing millions more pounds of food from landfills.”

Food waste is the No. 1 component in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills in 2021, and the source of 8 to 10 percent of all GHGs, says Flashfood in the report. During 2022, Flashfood says it diverted more than 28.1 million pounds of food waste from landfills.

Exploring consumer perception is a key component of the report, as the company aims to emphasize not just the value of the climate impact but also the consumer appetite for Flashfood. New findings from a 2023 survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Flashfood demonstrate a desire for change. The majority of adult grocery shoppers in the U.S. are struggling with the cost of healthy eating, and they view the reduction of food waste as an important priority.

• Nearly 9 in 10 Americans (88 percent) say managing food waste is important to them.
• The majority of Americans (68 percent) agree that the rising cost of food is making healthy eating more difficult for them.
• Just over three in four Americans (77 percent) are concerned about the environmental impact of food waste on land, water, GHG emissions and biodiversity.
• Three quarters of Americans (75 percent) believe that reducing food waste is important for solving climate change.

In the report, Flashfood celebrates its retail partners, which the company says are critical to its success.

“We wanted this report to reflect the incredible impact of our retail partners,” Flashfood President and COO Nicholas Bertram says. “These exceptional operators understand the fundamental link between hunger and waste. They see the opportunity that this massive problem has created, which is why they’ll be the ones to help solve it—and win.”

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are accepted for Flashfood at partnering Meijer stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin.