Flashfood is a New App That is Helping to Eliminate Food Waste
Image via Flashfood
Canada wastes about $31 billion worth of food each year, but there’s one app startup that hopes to remedy this: Flashfood. The app, launching on Aug. 1, will let users buy food at discounted prices before they are thrown away by restaurants and grocery stores.
The app will also let businesses notify users through phone notifications about soon-to-expire foods. Users will be able to view a photo, a description and the price of each food.
Unlike similar apps, such as PareUp, Flashfood lets you purchase items through the mobile app and pick up the food on the same day, without a first-come, first-served policy for buying goods.
“Our goal is to end hunger, “ app creator Josh Domingues told Motherboard. “I know it sounds crazy, but by utilizing the sharing economy and creating a sustainable company, I believe we can expand our service to the point where we can help those less fortunate.”
The app is free to everyone. 75 percent of the price of each item will go towards the retailer and 25 percent to Flashfood. It is free for businesses to sign up for and use, and Flashfood will provide participating vendors with iPads so that they are able to take photos of items for sale.
15 restaurants are currently using Flashfood and more negotiations for grocery stores and restaurants to sign up are in progress. The app is only available in Toronto for now, but it hopes to expand across Canada by 2017.