Tackling Zero Food Waste with Spoiler Alert

Every year in the United States, about $165 billion worth of food is thrown out and wasted. Food businesses throw out as much as $50 million in wasted food, due to lost revenue and hauling fees for spoiled inventory.

Two MIT Sloan graduates, however, are hoping to change the landscape of food waste in the business-to-business marketplace. Created by Emily Malina and Ricky Ashenfelter, Spoiler Alert is a mobile app that seeks to provide a real-time solution for food waste. Because of the shelf-life and time sensibility of food, it is a lot harder for companies to donate or recycle food in a sustainable way. The app gives businesses an opportunity to donate their food before sending it off to landfills. Businesses can list available inventory that notifies nearby non-profits for food donation, or the food can go to companies that make animal feed or fertilizer.

In addition, the app offers a second market for discounted food sales, which can help businesses recoup revenue from potentially wasted food. The app also tracks transactions, so companies can file donor tax reductions at the end of the year. Overall, Spoiler Alert helps businesses support their local communities, and can save time, money, and resources for the food industry.

The app is currently supported in New England, but is looking to expand its services next year to include New York City and states that have commercial food waste ban policies. Soon, the app could go global, with many inquiries for the service coming in from overseas organizations.

From food businesses to cafeterias, tech apps like Spoiler Alert can help curb and eliminate waste, smoothly moving businesses and homes to sustainable practices, eventually into a zero-waste model. As the app becomes widely available, more people can be fed, and businesses can easily stream their own waste.