Food waste by the numbers

From a scientist chaining himself to Chase Bank to an activist setting himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court— climate protests have permeated the globe in recent weeks—with many comparing our situation to a real-life “Don’t Look Up.”

While the climate crisis feels like a ticking time bomb to many, there’s room to turn things around—with the U.N stating that a resolution for the crisis is still “doable.” And with an issue as massive and politically charged as climate change, it’s helpful to focus on the small steps we can take to help create real change.

For those of us in the restaurant industry, the main way we can combat the climate crisis is through the reduction of food waste, and the team at Otter supports any and every initiative that offers food waste solutions for our restaurant partners. Since a whopping 40% of food produced in the US goes uneaten, we’re celebrating Earth Day with a special feature from Lovvett: the sustainable food app designed to help local restaurants sell their excess food and reduce waste.

Before we go into more detail on how the Lovett app works to reduce food waste amongst local restaurants, let’s dive into some quick stats to learn more about how food waste impacts our planet:

• Roughly one-third of all food produced globally for human consumption every year - approximately 1.3 billion tons - gets lost or wasted
• Even if just one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted globally could be saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people in the world
• 35% of wasted food is simply thrown out by supermarkets, shops, and households, and much of it is still perfectly fit for eating
• Wasted food accounts for about 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally
• The carbon footprint of U.S. food waste is greater than that of the airline industry
• The UN estimates the direct economic consequences of food waste to $750 billion yearly. And that’s even excluding fish and seafood. Counting fish & seafood the number is close to $1 trillion

“If Food Waste were a country it would be the world’s 3rd largest emitter of CO2 after China and the US.” - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

How does Lovvett work?

We spoke with Lovvett CEO and founder, Rafael Garrido, to learn more about Lovvett’s mission and how the app is a win-win for your restaurant’s bottom line and the planet.

“[Lovvett] empowers restaurants and their customers to practice conscious consumption through the reduction of excess food. The idea is simple behind what we do is simple: rather than toss the food that your restaurant, bakery, cake, shop or grocery store hasn’t been able to sell by the end of the day, let your community know that it’s available and give them the option of picking it up at a discount instead. While Lovvett’s platform is good for the merchant –  who cashes in on the excess food, gets a new customer and runs a more sustainable operation –  it's also good for the customer, who gets a great deal on perfectly edible food at a fraction of the price while doing their part in helping the environment.”

What can a restaurant expect in partnering with Lovvett?

“The Lovvett platform lets merchants feed their community & sell excess food rather than tossing the food (and labor that went into making it) into the bin at the end of each day. This not only helps keep your community fed and your margins healthy, but it also helps our world by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that come from food waste. Lovvett has evolved over the years to become a one stop shop that not only lets restaurants sell their excess food at the end of the day, but also provides a new channel for restaurants to sell their full menu for takeout, dine-in, or delivery.”

How is Lovvett’s experience working alongside Otter?

“Working with Otter has been very good by all measures. The integration was quick and easy, and it works seamlessly. It's very rewarding to walk into a restaurant and activate them without changing anything in their workflow. The activation team is very responsive. A couple of weeks ago we activated close to 50 new brands in less than 5 days!

The team is super easy to work with and supportive. The mission’s alignment is clear, as we all try to help local restaurants succeed. We are starting to share customers with each other, from which everyone wins. We are very positive and encouraged by the collaboration. We see this integration as a key part of our growth strategy, in Miami and beyond.”

Fight food waste with Lovvett today

Get started by checking out Lovett’s free calculator to get actionable insights, measure the impact of surplus on your profit margins, and learn how much you can increase revenue and profits with Lovett.

Head over to the Lovvett website to get started.