Every hour surplus food sits unclaimed is a meal that never reaches someone who needs it, so a food-rescue company needed donating to be as fast and simple as ordering a ride.
“In food rescue, time is the whole problem. Cut the time and you cut the waste.”
The company needed to revamp its digital platform and build a new mobile and web application that made donating food fast and easy, tracking every transaction in real time from order and pickup through delivery. It had to use geolocation to connect users automatically and let corporations and event organizers register to track tax receipts and savings.
ML arteka designed and developed both the mobile and web applications, intelligently matching excess food to local nonprofits with real-time information on availability and delivery. Donors could choose pickup location, schedule, and payment, drivers could accept pickup requests, and organizers and corporations could register and track their savings.
The result: more than 1 million pounds of food recovered, over 900,000 meals delivered, 3.5 million pounds of CO2 emissions diverted, and more than 10 million dollars of food delivered to people in need.
Business Outcomes
An end-to-end platform cut the time to donate, reducing waste and feeding communities at scale.
Diverted from waste to communities.
To people in need.
In value, to those who need it.
The Transformation
From a slow, manual donation process to real-time, geolocation-matched rescue.
- 1
TrackReal-Time, End to EndTracked every transaction from order and pickup through delivery in real time. - 2
MatchGeolocation MatchingConnected donors to local nonprofits automatically using geolocation. - 3
CoordinatePickup and DeliveryEnabled pickup location, schedule, and payment choices, and let drivers accept requests. - 4
ReportSavings and Tax ReceiptsLet corporations and organizers register and track their savings and receipts.
The Business Challenge
Racing the Clock on Perishable Good
Donating surplus food had to be fast, trackable, and easy for donors, drivers, and organizers alike.
Time-sensitive donations
The critical factor in donating food is time, which drives waste.
Connecting the right parties
Excess food had to reach the nearest nonprofit automatically.
End-to-end tracking
Every transaction needed tracking from order to delivery.
Savings and receipts
Corporations and organizers needed to track tax receipts and savings.
Business Outcomes in Detail
What the Numbers Mean
Diverted from waste to communities.
To people in need.
In value, to those who need it.
Technology Snapshot
The Platform
When the bottleneck is time, the software’s job is to remove every minute of delay. Real-time matching and tracking turned a slow, manual donation process into food on tables.
Executive Questions and Answers
The questions leadership tends to ask when evaluating an approach like this.
Impact
What did the platform achieve?
More than 1 million pounds of food recovered, over 900,000 meals delivered, 3.5 million pounds of CO2 diverted, and over 10 million dollars of food delivered to people in need.
Matching
How does it connect food to nonprofits?
Geolocation automatically connects donors with nearby nonprofits, with real-time information on availability and delivery.
Adoption
Who uses it?
Donors, drivers, corporations, and event organizers, each with the tools they need to donate, deliver, or track savings.
