Edible Food Finds: Food For All
Photo by Michael Piazza
Sabine Meister Vallenga, CMO and co-founder, and David Rodriguez, CEO and co-founder of Food for All, are tackling food waste with an app “aimed to empower people and businesses to take action,” Sabine explains.
While in college, Sabine and David noticed many students and post-grads were struggling to find affordable dining options and, simultaneously, many restaurants were discarding leftover food daily. To address this, they conceptualized the idea of an app in collaboration with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the help of a Kickstarter campaign.
The app can be downloaded for free by anyone on their smartphone. Each user creates a profile, then the app pulls up a user’s location and lists a variety of participating area restaurants and food vendors that have meal deals available at designated times that day. Usually, the pickup times are around closing time, which offers an incentive for the discounted rate. The user reserves the meal through the app and picks it up directly from the vendor at the confirmed time. As Lauren Betz, head of customer success, explains, “There’s a bit of mystery in exchange for the discount, and for some customers it’s also a low-risk way to try out a new place.”
To Sabine, “Food for All offers a reward for doing the right thing.” Vendors attract new clients and generate additional revenue from meals that would be otherwise discarded, and customers purchase delicious meals for at least half the price.
