Solving the Problem 8A

1. The opportunity I would like to pursue is an idea about how to limit food waste in the US. Incredibly Americans waste $160 billion dollars in food each year which equates to about 35% percent of the entire US food supply. This leaves an ungodly amount of quality food going to the garbage instead of being consumed by the many impoverished and needy people in our communities. The trouble lies in the fact of transporting the goods before they are wasted and can no longer be eaten. Unfortunately, there is only a limited amount of time that the food is good for and it is difficult to get it into the hands of those that need it. The opportunity lies in a way to effectively deliver these goods to those who need them. Luckily, most communities have at least one nonprofit organization as well as churches in the community. Many of these organizations rely on donations to feed the homeless and needy that come to them. My idea is to create a website and/or app that can connect companies and the general public to organizations that can use the excess food and give it out to needy people. This site could allow people with excess food or food that is set to be expired to send out a picture and a location of the food to the organizations to then be able to send someone to pick up the food. This could be an excellent way for restaurants, grocery stores, and the general public to support needy people in the community with food that would have normally been wasted. Companies could potentially receive tax write offs for the food they donate and become a valuable part of the community by donating unneeded food. The reason I would like to explore this opportunity is That I would love to be able to find a way to help local nonprofits help those in need. I also think that a lot of companies could be willing to help and be motivated to receive tax right offs for donating goods

2. The service would require nonprofit organizations to register with the company. They would then be eligible to receive donations from other companies. I would first need to get grocery stores and restaurants on board with donating their excess goods to the nonprofits. Once a set of goods is ready to be donated, they could then log on to their account and record what is available for pick up. This would then alert all the local nonprofits that are registered that goods are available for pick up. A nonprofit could then drive to the location to receive the goods. Many stores already donate goods, but this would allow for a streamlined process for both parties involved. It could also allow lesser known local organizations to have an opportunity to gain more donations. The service I would be creating could require yearly membership fees and charge advertising fees on the website and app. Another factor of the company would be allowing households to easily donate goods. This is where being a member of the service could be a great asset. Households with excess goods could also alert companies when they have goods to donate and could then request pick up or drop them off. Nonprofits could also send out notifications to their data base of the goods that they need currently alerting all people of certain goods they could buy to donate. I think this service could be a cool way to get more people involved in the community helping organizations as well as helping to limit waste.

I think that the company I want to create could be sustainable and become a nonprofit on its own. I would love to create a company that makes a difference and allows more people to experience the joy that comes from helping others. Essentially this idea is about creating a network of people in a community that help each other. Today many people have a hard time building connections outside of our internet bubble. So why not create a platform that promotes giving and helping others. Before it became an app maybe it starts just as an email service or messaging group for people with goods to donate and organizations that need those donations to go out and help others. I think the key is to start small and simple and see how it works and if it viable and worth going larger scale and branching out to an expensive interface.