Food wastage. It’s something that needs to be prevented. Did you know that Australia throws away millions of tonnes of food every year? Millions. Of. Tonnes. We often throw away leftovers from the fridge without a second thought, we leave packaged food in the cupboard for too long or we don’t eat all of the food on our plate when we go out for dinner. I say ‘we’ because I’m sure we’re all guilty of one of the three scenarios just mentioned.
There are many issues in this world that I care about. Reducing poverty, homelessness and food wastage are some of them. In December 2016, I ran a food drive for OzHarvest Canberra through Eat Canberra and we were able to gather more than 20 bags of groceries to give to people in need. I also received various donations in the form of cash and gift cards and I’m so grateful to everyone who contributed. Amazing things can happen when we all work together.
But food wastage continues to be a HUGE issue.
We know how much food is wasted in our households so imagine how much food is wasted in restaurants. Restaurants that serve hundreds of customers each day…..
Food waste comes at a huge cost to the environment as well as household budgets.
That’s why Tom O’Dea and Hugo Fonseca, Croppz Founders, are launching the surplus food platform, and Canberra is the first city in Australia to trial it.
Croppz has been described as being like an eBay for surplus food. The platform is an online marketplace where businesses can list surplus food before end of trade, before best before dates or when supply has not met demand. ACT region consumers can then buy this food at a minimum of 35% off the normal price.
It will enable businesses and consumers to reduce food waste, save money and access delicious surplus food, at much lower prices, preventing it from ending up in landfill.
Tom says the platform is about making people aware of the impact of food wastage and making more money for food businesses, by preventing them from having to throw away food.
“Currently in Australia we are throwing away over 4 million tonnes of edible food every year and the vast majority of that comes as a loss to a food-related business or farmer.
“We are hoping to increase people’s awareness of surplus food, reduce food waste and help businesses that are interested in improving their bottom lines.
“We also want to educate people about the impacts that food waste has on greenhouse gas emissions and therefore climate change,” Mr O’Dea said.
The trial of the Croppz platform launches on Saturday the 20th of January and the trial is exclusive to residents of the ACT and Queanbeyan.
Some of the businesses who are already on board are Bitten Goodfoods in Braddon and The Muesli Bar in Fyshwick.
If the trial succeeds in Canberra, the platform will go national and will have a massive positive impact towards the war on waste.
You can sign up to the trial and help get local food businesses on board so you can take advantage of Croppz at your local shops, favourite cafe or supermarket.
Visit the website.
Find Croppz on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Amelia Bidgood
Amelia is the Founder and Editor of Eat Canberra and the Founder and Managing Director of Eat Canberra Food Tours. She's a qualified journalist, presenter, freelance writer and also runs a boutique communications agency working with small business owners on all things social media, content creation and marketing. She's taught cheesemaking classes, judged hospitality and tourism awards, completed the WSET Level 1 Award In Wines, loves to cook and has travelled to 23 countries. She's also passionate about mental health and has recently started studying to become a Counsellor.