Background  Statement:

Food  waste  is  a  huge  problem  in  the  United  States,  costing  billions  of  dollars  annually  and  drastically
increasing  methane  emissions,  which  affect  climate  change.  Food  waste  has  increased  50%  since  the
mid-­1970’s1 ,  and  recent  statistics  indicate  that  40%  of  food  in  the  United  States  goes  to  waste  every
year2 .  In  2012,  a  staggering  180  billion  pounds  of  food  went  uneaten  in  the  United  States  alone3 .
Americans  spend  approximately  $165  billion  each  year  on  food  they  do  not  eat4 ,  and  the  annual  cost  of
disposing  of  this  food  waste  exceeds  one  billion  dollars  per  year5 .  Landfills  generate  methane,  a
greenhouse  gas  20%  more  potent  than  carbon  dioxide,  which  contributes  to  global  warming.  Food
waste  in  landfills  is  responsible  for  approximately  25%  of  methane  emissions6 ,  exacerbating  an  already
dire  climate  change  situation.

Problem  Statement:

According  to  the  Environmental  Protection  Agency,  food  waste  is  now  the  primary  kind  of  waste  going
into  landfills,  and  15%  of  the  food  waste  in  landfills  comes  from  restaurants7 .  This  costs  the  food
industry  $8  billion  to  $20  billion  annually8 ,  takes  up  a  large  amount  of  space  in  landfills,  and  contributes  to
the  alarming  rate  of  climate  change.  On  the  reverse  side,  there  are  many  organizations  that  struggle  to
provide  food  to  those  who  need  it,  i.e.  food  banks  and  soup  kitchens,  while  an  alarming  amount  of  viable
food  is  wasted  daily  by  restaurants.

Solution  Statement:

Many  restaurants  now  participate  in  food  recovery  programs,  which  take  leftover  food  from  restaurants
and  give  it  to  people  or  organizations  within  their  community  who  are  experiencing  food  insecurity.  Our
solution  provides  a  simple  and  informative  way  to  connect  those  who  have  extra  food,  and  those  who
need  food.  Our  app  will  match  local  restaurants  having  excess  food  with  local  organizations  needing
food  donations.  Donors/restaurants  will  post  the  quantity  and  type  of  food  available,
recipients/organizations  will  post  their  food  needs,  and  a  mapping  function  will  alert  users  to  potential
nearby  matches.

Solution  in  Detail:

The  Food  Recovery  application  allows  restaurants  to  connect  with  institutions/organizations  that  need
food  and  vice  versa.  We  are  striving  to  turn  restaurant  food  waste  into  a  positive  way  for  organizations  in
need  of  food  to  get  access  to  this  leftover  food  for  free.  Our  application  allows  entities  to  log  in  with  an
existing  account  or  sign  up  for  an  account  with  our  Food  Recovery  application.

1
 http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0007940
2
 http://www.nrdc.org/living/eatingwell/files/foodwaste_2pgr.pdf
3
 http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-­01-­10/living-­in-­the-­united-­states-­of-­food-­waste
4
 http://www.nrdc.org/living/eatingwell/files/foodwaste_2pgr.pdf
5
 http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-­01-­10/living-­in-­the-­united-­states-­of-­food-­waste
6
 http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-­01-­10/living-­in-­the-­united-­states-­of-­food-­waste
7
 http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/11/27/165907972/for-­restaurants-­food-­waste-­is-­seen-­as-­low-­priority
8
 http://blog.leanpath.com/2012/10/new-­food-­waste-­infographic/
To  sign  up,  an  entity  could  choose  to  link  with  their  Facebook  page  for  easier  sign  up,  and  to  support
their  use  of  social  networking  to  manage  their  brand.  This  also  allows  for  our  application  to  verify  that  the
entity  is  legitimate.  Otherwise,  users  can  sign  up  for  an  account  using  their  email  address,  and  will  need
to  verify  their  identity  that  way.  They  also  have  the  option  to  mark  if  their  organization  will  be  donating
food  or  if  they  will  be  in  need  of  food.  This  distinction  will  affect  how  the  system  categorizes  their  data,
and  sends  them  alerts.
Once  users  have  signed  their  institution  up  for  an  account,  they  will  have  full  access  to  the  application.
The  home  page  for  the  application  is  a  map.  Here  there  are  pins  that  mark  restaurants  that  have  leftover
food  to  give  away  (marked  in  pink),  and  organizations  that  need  food  (marked  in  white).  From  this  page,
you  can  get  an  overview  of  the  activity  and  needs  in  a  specific  area,  and  then  access  more  specific
information  about  what  each  location  has  or  needs.

When  a  user  decides  to  view  more  information  about  a  certain  location  (by  pressing  the  arrow  on  the
pink  container),  they  can  see  detailed  information  about  what  is  available,  and  who  to  contact.

Once  a  message  is  sent,  a  user  can  view  and  manage  all  of  their  messages  from  the  message  page.
They  can  select  a  particular  message  thread  to  view  those  messages.
Users  can  also  post  an  item  that  they  either  have  or  that  they  need.  They  can  provide  a  description,  take
a  photo,  and  add  tags  that  name  what  the  item  is.  These  will  be  predefined  within  the  system  so  that  the
alert  system  can  be  more  effective.
Users  can  review  their  profile  information  from  the  profile  page,  and  make  any  updated  when  their
information  changes.  Here  they  user  can  also  view  their  history  of  transactions,  and  the  status.  This
allows  users  to  manage  what  transactions  have  been  resolved,  and  which  are  still  pending.

Finally,  an  alert  icon  (far  right)  will  display  a  notification  symbol  when  any  matches  have  been  made
based  on  location  and  what  items  are  available  or  in  need.  This  will  point  users  to  the  map  where
matches  will  be  shown,  and  meetings  can  be  arranged.

Group  Members:
Genevieve  Haggard
Cathy  Choi
Rachel  Lynch