This app reduces how much food gets thrown away at grocery stores. How does it work?

We waste 1.3 billion tons of food worldwide each year (yikes!). The No Food Wasted app could help us fix that.

 Kristine Wong
09.23.15

One-third of the food produced worldwide (that's almost 1.3 billion tons) is wasted every year.

In the U.S., the United Nations Environment Programme estimates that each person wastes more than 20 pounds of food per month, which is 30-40% of our food supply. Yikes.

And, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the family breakdown looks bad, too: an average family of four leaves more than 2 million calories (nearly $1,500 worth of food) uneaten each year. Double yikes.

A member of the Argentinian "freegan" movement rummages through a garbage container for food in 2012. The freegans collect the food discarded by supermarkets and restaurants, among other strategies to find free food. Photo via Alejandro Pagni/AFP/Getty Images.

Solving this massive food waste problem could help us feed 795 million undernourished people on our planet.

Plus, reducing the amount of food waste could put a dent in climate change (rotting food releases methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide). Recently, the U.S. government announced that it's setting a goal to cut food waste in half by 2030. That's a big goal.

Here's one incredibly cool solution that could help get us there: a mobile app from a Dutch entrepreneur that helps supermarkets cut food waste.

It could also save you quite a bit of money in the process.

This photo was provided by No Food Wasted and translated into English (right now, it's only available in Dutch).

How does it work? Based on your location, the No Food Wasted app shows discounts available in your area on food that's about to expire. Need bananas? Head to grocery store #1 for discounted bananas that might go into the trash 24 hours later. Looking for a loaf of bread? Grocery store #10 has 20 loaves that are reaching the end of their lives very soon.

“We've created a concrete solution for people to do something ... they don't have to pay more money, go to different grocery stores, or eat less food," said August de Vocht, the creator of the No Food Wasted app, which he developed at his mobile media company, Gemoro.

In a pilot study, the No Food Wasted app cut food waste in supermarkets up to 18%.

That's huge. From September 2014 to May 2015, the pilot study followed 22 stores from five supermarket chains in southern Netherlands. Those supermarkets cut their food waste pretty significantly by using this app, which is currently available only in Dutch.

While Dutch supermarkets throw away 10,000 euros' (over $11,000) worth of food a month, the markets that have used the app have saved up to 1,800 euros a month, de Vocht told Upworthy.

How did they make this big of a difference? De Vocht says the key was giving customers financial incentives for food that's nearing the end of its shelf life.

The app is simple to use, which makes it even more of a win.

Users log in via their Facebook, Twitter, or email accounts, or even anonymously. Grocery stores use an administrator's version of the app to scan a product into the app's database, along with the discount, number of units available, and “best before" date.

Users can check out a list of stores nearby, or they can click on one supermarket to see a list of all of its offerings at the moment.

This is what the app's interface would look like if you used it in your neighborhood. This photo was provided by No Food Wasted and translated into English.

And while supermarkets pay a monthly fee to use the app (which helps them get rid of food that's going bad and make more money at the same time), shoppers can download the app for free.

“One thing we learned is that people are triggered mostly by money and not by the environment," de Vocht said.

“When we asked about what discount was needed to sell the product, 35% was the magic number."

The future looks good for the app, too. Since smartphones and supermarkets abound, de Vocht sees this as a solution that can be replicated around the world.

There are, of course, limitations: The app isn't perfectly configured to update the number of units available in real time once discounted items sell. The No Food Wasted team is working on fixing that issue. They're also focused on raising investor money so they can roll out the app at grocery stores throughout the rest of the Netherlands, and then throughout the European Union.

Here's hoping that you'll be able to use the No Food Wasted at a supermarket near you soon!

economics health economy other food money work
Most Shared

Oprah's social experiment on audience members puts racism in a new light

On an old episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in July 1992, Oprah put her audience through a social experiment that puts racism in a new light. Despite being nearly two decades old, it's as relevant today as ever.

She split the audience members into two groups based on their eye color. Those with brown eyes were given preferential treatment by getting to cut the line and given refreshments while they waited to be seated. Those with blue eyes were made to put on a green collar and wait in a crowd for two hours.

Staff were instructed to be extra polite to brown-eyed people and to discriminate against blue-eyed people. Her guest for that day's show was diversity expert Jane Elliott, who helped set up the experiment and played along, explaining that brown-eyed people were smarter than blue-eyed people.

Watch the video to see how this experiment plays out.

Oprah's Social Experiment on Her Audience www.youtube.com

oprah diversity racism social experiment
Culture

Cadbury removed the words from its wrappers to bring attention to a seldom-discussed issue

The candy giant said it "donated" the words.

via Cadbury

Cadbury has removed the words from its Dairy Milk chocolate bars in the U.K. to draw attention to a serious issue, senior loneliness.

On September 4, Cadbury released the limited-edition candy bars in supermarkets and for every one sold, the candy giant will donate 30p (37 cents) to Age UK, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for the elderly.

Cadbury was prompted to help the organization after it was revealed that 225,000 elderly people in the UK often go an entire week without speaking to another person.

Keep Reading Show less
elderly lonliness lonely seniors cadbury dairy milk age uk AARP cadbury removes words from wrappers
Well Being
Walgreens
Walgreens

Teachers seek outside support to tackle today’s challenges in the classroom

Young people today are facing what seems to be greater exposure to complex issues like mental health, bullying, and youth violence. As a result, teachers are required to be well-versed in far more than school curriculum to ensure students are prepared to face the world inside and outside of the classroom. Acting as more than teachers, but also mentors, counselors, and cheerleaders, they must be equipped with practical and relevant resources to help their students navigate some of the more complicated social issues – though access to such tools isn't always guaranteed.

Take Dr. Jackie Sanderlin, for example, who's worked in the education system for over 25 years, and as a teacher for seven. Entering the profession, she didn't anticipate how much influence a student's home life could affect her classroom, including "students who lived in foster homes" and "lacked parental support."

Dr. Jackie Sanderlin, who's worked in the education system for over 25 years.

Valerie Anglemyer, a middle school teacher with more than 13 years of experience, says it can be difficult to create engaging course work that's applicable to the challenges students face. "I think that sometimes, teachers don't know where to begin. Teachers are always looking for ways to make learning in their classrooms more relevant."

So what resources do teachers turn to in an increasingly fractured world? "Joining a professional learning network that supports and challenges thinking is one of the most impactful things that a teacher can do to support their own learning," Anglemyer says.

Valerie Anglemyer, a middle school teacher with more than 13 years of experience.

A new program for teachers that offers this network along with other resources is the WE Teachers Program, an initiative developed by Walgreens in partnership with ME to WE and Mental Health America. WE Teachers provides tools and resources, at no cost to teachers, looking for guidance around the social issues related to poverty, youth violence, mental health, bullying, and diversity and inclusion. Through online modules and trainings as well as a digital community, these resources help them address the critical issues their students face.

Jessica Mauritzen, a high school Spanish teacher, credits a network of support for providing her with new opportunities to enrich the learning experience for her students. "This past year was a year of awakening for me and through support… I realized that I was able to teach in a way that built up our community, our school, and our students, and supported them to become young leaders," she says.

With the new WE Teachers program, teachers can learn to identify the tough issues affecting their students, secure the tools needed to address them in a supportive manner, and help students become more socially-conscious, compassionate, and engaged citizens.

It's a potentially life-saving experience for students, and in turn, "a great gift for teachers," says Dr. Sanderlin.

"I wish I had the WE Teachers program when I was a teacher because it provides the online training and resources teachers need to begin to grapple with these critical social issues that plague our students every day," she adds.

In addition to the WE Teachers curriculum, the program features a WE Teachers Award to honor educators who go above and beyond in their classrooms. At least 500 teachers will be recognized and each will receive a $500 Walgreens gift card, which is the average amount teachers spend out-of-pocket on supplies annually. Teachers can be nominated or apply themselves. To learn more about the awards and how to nominate an amazing teacher, or sign up for access to the teacher resources available through WE Teachers, visit walgreens.com/metowe.

WE Teachers
True
Walgreens

Fed up news anchor has the best response to a man who told her to dress ‘like a normal woman’

Women shouldn't have to dress for the male gaze.

via KGW-TV / YouTube

One of the major differences between women and men is that women are often judged based on their looks rather than their character or abilities.

"Men as well as women tend to establish the worth of individual women primarily by the way their body looks, research shows. We do not do this when we evaluate men," Naomi Ellemers Ph.D. wrote in Psychology Today.

Dr. Ellers believes that this tendency to judge a woman solely on her looks causes them to be seen as an object rather than a person.

Keep Reading Show less
Culture