Food Waste For Farms

Problem/Solution

Sadly, over 40% of the food produced in this country ends up in the landfill. Food Waste For Farms (.com) responds to the NCR SARE goal of supporting projects that are protecting natural resources, enhancing communities, and boosting farm based profitability.

The pilot website will be an online networking community created to expand the sustainably goals for food producers and farmers by diverting waste from the landfill to providing a nutrient rich animal feed. Logistic considerations of availability, convenience, and ease of use on farm will be evaluated. Route logistics, perishability, container management, composting of excess materials will be considered. All members will test web interface, convenience of technology, and transport containers and results will be considered for cost benefit, convenience, and profitability.

FoodWasteForFarms.com is the online networking solution and will be the conduit for waste generators to find users for their by-products lowering costs for farmers and food producers alike.

How it works:
Food Waste producers will provide the food by-products and waste needed for feed for the farms. They will be able to post what and how much is available, on-going availability and scheduling guidelines.

Farmers will be looking for food by-products and waste they can introduce into their food stream.

We will provide the platform to allow disparate users to connect by phone, email or text messaging and to arrange for delivery/pickup of food by-products/waste and on-going supply basis.

Once the platform is functional, the hope is to expand regionally, finding local coordinators to help jumpstart the idea acros the U.S.

This pilot version of the website is not intended as a public consumer resource. Features of FWFF Website:

Our goal is to create a network among the stakeholders linking institutions, food retail, chefs, restaurants, caterers and distributors who create waste to farmers who can use these products as animal feeds and compost materials.

Farm Profile:
By incorporating tools similar to those on professional networking sites, the farm profile on FWFF will enable you to interact and network with other FWFF members. Detailed and product information will help you determine whether or not a processor, generator or farmer is the right fit for your exchange. The profiles are an invitation to an ongoing and collaborative conversation about food waste management. Any member can opt out of this feature and still participate.

Search:
Through one search function, users can find important information. Results can be filtered down to a specific need (geography, livestock) quickly and easily, without having to navigate to another page on the site. These might include
food safety certifications, distance, and farm based practices.

The Marketplace
The Marketplace feature allows users to make product offerings or requests for items quickly and easily. The Marketplace is intended to facilitate opportunistic sales, purchases and other requests of interest to the FWFF community. This feature will become an opt-in text message service as well.

Connecting
Once you find a potential exchange through the Search or Marketplace, there are many ways you can connect. You may choose to phone or email them directly but you can also add them to your "Connections" list or send them a message directly through the site.

News, Research and Resources
These sections help you understand contemporary research about best practices, share sustainability success stories and market local foods and farm products. Beyond simply providing news about sustainability, areas of focus within the sections include research and innovation, food safety, and business development.