The platforms aim to eliminate food waste and fight hunger with technology

While people pass by hunger, tons of food still fit for consumption are wasted. To try to avoid this scenario, NGOs and social enterprises have sought to leverage technology food to those who need it most.

According to the report “The state of food security and nutrition in the world”, published by the United Nations in July last year, 21 million Brazilians do not have daily access to food and 70.3 million find themselves in a situation of insecurity to feed themselves . . The report also reveals that there are 10 million malnourished people in the country.

On the other hand, a study conducted by Nestlé and the digital research company Mindminers estimates that, every year, 60 kilos of food fit for consumption is thrown away for every Brazilian. Another 26.3 million tonnes are wasted between production and transport, before even reaching the table, according to 2016 data from the Ministry of Social Development (the latest available).

The work of some entities dealing with the topic has been organized as follows: a supermarket, an industry or other structures working with food inform on the platform that there is food that can be donated; The nearest NGO that provides the meals and is registered in the database is in charge of collecting them and using them to supplement the meals. Quantity and quality are measured on the platform itself, through information to be published by NGOs.

Donations are permitted by law 14.016/2020, approved during the pandemic. The law allows donations from structures that work with food, establishing the conditions that they must be within the expiry date and fit for consumption, even if the packaging is damaged, and that they must be sent to people in need. In the event of a health problem caused by food, the donor and the intermediary are only liable if they acted with malice (intention).

While on the one hand the law is criticized for its poor guarantees, on the other hand it has also facilitated the work of donation and provided greater legal certainty. Therefore, organizations that were already working this way had an easier time working. One example is the social and food technology company Connecting Food, which began work in 2016.

Having acquired its first customers in 2018, Connecting Food is paid by donor companies to reuse food. The model is similar to that of the NGO Infineat, which defines itself as philanthropic (a technological philanthropic entity). Do both organizations have technology as their primary resource for redirecting food and supplementing meals? model that differs from a food bank.

The technology facilitates collection so that deliveries are made quickly, avoiding losses. In this model, is it possible to also donate products that would be lost quickly, such as meat and dairy products? although fruits and vegetables also make up a large part of the retargeting. Infineat has Unilever in its client portfolio, while Connecting Food has Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA), Nestlé and Camil, among others.

According to Vasserman, certification is only the first step for the NGOs that collaborate with Infineat. “We look for partner NGOs in places where there are shops or industries. We train both parties, via the Internet, on how to collect, separate, weigh and use the app. With the data, we can know if they are donating everything they need , who can or can’t, what type of product and quality”, explains the CEO.

To the Estadao, Unilever said the work with Infineat is part of the company’s ESG strategy, led by the Hellmann brand and supported by others, such as Knorr, Arisco, Mãe Terra, Cremogema and Maizena. According to Rodrigo Visentini, Unilever Nutrition Business Unit leader for Brazil, as a result of the partnership, strict waste controls have been established throughout the chain. “Our waste indicators in factories and distribution centers halved from 2020 to 2023 and represent a global benchmark for Unilever and the industry,” he says.

Partner of Connecting Food, GPA says the partner is present in all Pão de Açúcar, Extra Mercado, Minuto Pão de Açúcar, Mini Extra and PA Fresh stores. The social enterprise has improved its Partnership Against Waste program since 2018, which has existed since 1995.

“Our partnership with Connecting allows us to improve processes involving the redistribution of food, such as monitoring the destination of what is donated to the final beneficiaries; raising awareness among shops and organizations of the importance of the program; measuring the social impact generated by the program “, mentions Renata Amaral, director of the GPA Institute. The estimate is that 8 million people were affected by the redirection between 2019 and 2023 and that 1.7 thousand tons of food were donated.

Impact

Is reducing waste enough to address hunger in Brazil? NGO leaders demonstrate confidence that their actions can generate significant positive impacts, but there are doubts about their ability to actually make a difference.

Vanessa Daufenback, a food systems researcher and USP professor, says hunger has multiple drivers and, therefore, requires solutions at different points in the chain, from food production to consumption. “Food donation through philanthropy, whether mediated by technology or not, represents one part of this comparison when it comes to emergency distribution actions. But even the largest programs claim to only be able to supplement the daily needs of their beneficiaries,” says the doctor.

According to Daufenback, waste is just one of the problems related to the functioning of the food system, which also has long production and transportation chains that often consume natural resources and generate greenhouse gas emissions through the use of fossil fuels, the excessive use of pesticides, low wages for family farmers and other problems.

Therefore, food donation is still an insufficient measure to satisfy needs in terms of quality and quantity. “It works as a complement to the meals of its beneficiaries, as well as serving the donor companies who benefit from tax deductions, good public image and savings on food disposal,” he explains.

However, Vasserman and Alcione demonstrate confidence in generating maximum impact. “We need to understand how powerful it is to use a resource that already exists to solve and transform what would be a waste into something positive. We have managed to have an absurd impact on the issue of food security and help transform social enterprises in Brazil,” he says Vasserman. Today Infineat operates in 18 Brazilian states, with operations starting in 13 of them in 2023.

Connecting Food, present in all states and the Federal District, follows a similar line, believing that the industry needs a solution to waste. “Brazil has endless potential for food donations. We can get more food donors and in industry, in general, so we can continue to bring food to the people,” she says.

Among the ways indicated by Professor Vanessa Daufenback to address the issue, in addition to donations, there are public policies for access to healthy and adequate food, offering fresh and minimally processed meals and foods at low cost, especially in poor areas; income redistribution policies; encourage formal employment; encourage family farming with land reform, access to land and technical assistance; and specific actions aimed at vulnerable urban and rural communities.

Stories

Among NGOs receiving redirected food, donations are seen as critical to maintaining and expanding their operations. More meals can be offered and with greater variety; it also allows financial resources to be used for other service purposes.

An example is the NGO Yes! I’m from Meio, who works in Belford Roxo, in the Baixada Fluminense. Born as a solidarity kitchen, it serves ready meals because many residents cannot bring basic food baskets because they do not have the means to cook at home. The operation began during the pandemic, with the founder, Débora Silva, often taking ready-to-eat food from the tray at UFRJ, where she studied, until she was banned from taking it.

Since then, with a stove, they began to collect donations and prepare meals, and are currently serving 2,000 meals a month. Silva says that after signing up and showcasing their work at Connecting Food, they were able to provide more and expand their operations? Today, for example, they are able to offer income-generating courses for women, such as baking and pastry-making, and provide some bags of vegetables to families in need of nutritious food.

“We have had a nutritionist for a few years, so that the food arrives with sufficient quality and helps maintain health,” says Sim’s manager! I’m from the center. He emphasizes that emotional and affective issues also interfere. “We see the look of the children while they receive the meal. A story I remember was that of a boy who, to evaluate the day’s food, chose a happy face and drew a fruit, because the special moment was snack time and there it was a delicious apple,” he reports.

In January, with the floods that hit Baixada Fluminense, the NGO managed to provide 14 thousand meals.

Similar stories are also reported by Infineat. One of the NGOs helped, Remar, underlines that the donations obtained through the technological platform are fundamental. “Almost 100% of the vegetable kits served during the day come from the supermarkets where Infineat operates,” explains Eduardo Ferreira, director of Remar.

The NGO also works on the issue of hunger, but also carries out other work, such as providing housing for the homeless and drug addicts, or providing aid in the event of environmental disasters. “We organize collections to be able to serve vulnerable people.” He reports cases of people who managed to gain 13 kilos in a month, after being welcomed into homes, or of those who managed to save on meals and had the money to buy a bus ticket and get to a job interview.

Business opportunities

In addition to trying to redirect the food, so do we There are those who see it as a business opportunity. The startup Food to Save seized this opportunity by reducing waste by selling “surprise” bags weighing around one kilogram, made up of savory or sweet products, sold from small markets and businesses to nearby people through an app created by them.

Typically, products are made available close to the time the plant closes its doors. Thus it is possible to obtain vegetables, in the “savoury” bags, or a dessert left over from the bakery, in the sweet bags. There are also mixed bag options. However, does the customer only know what they have received when they open the bag? you can only choose between sweet, savory or mixed.

The bags are sold at a discount of approximately 70% compared to the price normally charged for each item. For the point of sale there are no costs for integrating the application, which receives part of the profit from the sale, and there is quality monitoring. “The facility generates revenue instead of losses, the user has something suitable for consumption and the impact is positive on the environment,” explains Murilo Ambrogi, the company’s financial director. The app doesn’t work? the collection is the responsibility of the customer.

The application has already had two million downloads and is now present in the metropolitan regions of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia and Curitiba. The plan is to expand to five more capitals in the country this year.