A new app to curb food wastage

Mumbai: An Indian-origin innovator and his colleagues have developed a new app that can help curb food wastage and hunger by connecting hungry consumers with excess restaurant and grocery store food at discounted prices.

The app called PareUp is aimed at helping curb the USD 165 billion worth of food the Nature Resource Defence Council says is wasted each year in the US. After looking at how much good food was wasted, the developers of the app came up with a unique way to help get the excess food into consumers' hands, 'Los Angeles Times' reported.

The soon-to-be-launched app developed by New York-based Anuj Jhunjhunwala, Margaret Tung and Jason Chen will have an inventory of products from a participating retailer. The retailer will plug in how many excess items it has each day. It will give the items a discounted price and time of day when they will be ready for sale at that price. Consumers using the app can log in and view the discounted food for the day. They can then go to the store and buy it.

The app will be free to consumers and retailers to download, and Tung said PareUp will take a percentage of each sale, the report said.

Tung said PareUp is not attempting to compete with food banks and nonprofits, but recognises "the logistical restraints nonprofits have" in terms of being able to pick up the food and ensuring food safety.