FoodCycle
FoodCycle is an app-based service that allows businesses to help those that are struggling in their community and turn food waste into profit. It was developed by 6 high school students based in Massachusetts as part of the TiE Boston Young Entrepreneurs Competition. Essentially, the app uses a dynamic pricing algorithm to provide discounts on foods that are often wasted throughout the course of a day. This allows those that are financially struggling to get a cheaper meal and reduces a business' impact on the environment. It was due to start pilot programs at two restaurants in the Boston area, but the COVID-19 pandemic has put the project on hold for the foreseeable future.
How It All Began
-- Written by Ansh Motiani --
The Realization
Early in 2019, both Andrew (one of The NEYO's co-founders) and I realized that there was a very large problem at our school: food waste. Students often threw away large sums of uneaten food and the dining service would also be forced to trash any unsold food. With this realization, we began to further explore the topic and found out that the issue of food waste plagues almost every corner of our world, especially our country. The United States is the global leader in food waste, discarding more than 133 billion pounds of food annually, equivalent to 30-40% of the country's annual food production (USDA). In a country where more than $160 billion of food is wasted every year, why do more than 40 million people go hungry every day? Something needs to change.
The First Try
Armed with this newfound knowledge, the two of us began reaching out to multiple organizations in Massachusetts that specialized in the transport and donation of uneaten food. After quite a few discussions, we decided on Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, a non-profit based in Waltham that agreed to work with us and our school to minimize waste and transport uneaten food to nearby shelters and pantries. We then began discussions with the dining company at our school and met with the Head of Dining Services, Mr. Soucy. After our meeting, all the signs were looking great and we were expecting a follow-up email with the confirmation that work could begin. Unfortunately, after speaking with management at the dining company, Mr. Soucy informed us that company policy does not allow its prepared food to be donated. Although we were extremely disheartened at this news (many months of work down the drain), we refused to give up on a cause that had become so close to our hearts.
The Second Try
In August of 2019, I applied to the TiE Young Entrepreneurs program and to my delight, I was accepted with along 90 other teens from the Boston area. Essentially, it was a program in which we learned about the various aspects of entrepreneurship and applied our knowledge to create our own products and compete against other teams for a cash prize. Despite the setback a few months earlier, I was determined to reduce food waste in my community and quickly began brainstorming various product ideas to help schools and restaurants reduce food waste, and that is where the idea for FoodCycle came. I quickly assembled a team and we began working.
For around 6 months, we worked every weekend to develop our app and presentation. When it came time to present to investors in April, we were proud of how far we'd come. Although we didn't end up winning the competition, we received great feedback from investors and reached agreements with two restaurants to pilot our product. However, the pandemic soon hit and both of those restaurants had plenty of other things to worry about. As of now, our project is on hold, but we are determined to continue developing our product once we are able to do so.