22/03/23

In discussion with Michal Garvey, founder of Foodprint

In discussion with Michal Garvey, founder of Foodprint

Michal Garvey is the founder of Foodprint, an app where you can purchase surplus food for a discount from local eateries to prevent it from being wasted.

What is Foodprint’s role in shifting the food industry to waste-not being the norm?

While there are food rescue organisations in Aotearoa, There was a gap in the market for a service that redirected food that needs to be consumed the same day from hospitality and retail.

Foodprint enables everyday people, from consumers to eatery owners, to take action against food waste. It flips the narrative to how food waste happens and provides a simple solution to it. Foodprint empowers people by showing the amount of CO2 that they have saved by purchasing from Foodprint’s partnered eateries, showing them that every small action adds up to the fight against the climate crisis. 

Was there a moment when you knew you wanted to create Foodprint? >>

I’ve always had an interest in the role our food system plays in contributing to the climate crisis. While working at a global meal kit company overseas, I had the opportunity to work on a food waste prevention project and started to think about how we could use similar tech that was powering the company to mitigate food waste more broadly. 

Have you witnessed an attitude shift towards food waste since you started your Foodprint journey?

I’ve noticed more openness to talking about food waste and bigger conversations happening across Aotearoa.  With more people talking about food waste comes more education around the connection between food waste and the climate crisis.

Is there anything you want people to know about food waste?

People don’t understand the scale of the problem, reducing food waste is the number one action we can take to combat the climate crisis. Food waste contributes twice the amount of CO2 emissions than the aviation industry does. Reducing food waste is a no brainer both socially and environmentally. 

When you have too much fruit, what's your favourite way to use it up instead of letting it go to waste?

I grow tomatoes and I love to make my nana’s tomato relish with my home-grown tomatoes. I also make preserved lemons inspired by @ohyoujust on instagram when the lemon tree is full.

If you weren’t working to redirect food waste, what do you see yourself doing?

I don’t have a back-up plan, I have put my all into Foodprint. If not Foodprint, I would be doing something food or climate related, I couldn’t do anything else.  

Thanks for the chat Michal!

Interview has been edited for clarity.

 

In discussion with Michal Garvey, founder of Foodprint

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