Giving Compass' Take:

• Organizations are turning to apps to help with the food insecurity crisis. Food Tank discusses 19 such tech solutions.

• How can donors help fund more innovation in this area? What can we do to reduce food waste organically?

• Here's an article on zero food waste blogs worth checking out.

Apps can play a role in helping eaters, businesses, and organizations recover food for food assistance programs. Beyond creating temporary solutions, these apps can help create a permanent culture in which retailers and individuals donate surplus food, volunteers transport food, and nonprofits and families receive delicious and nutritious food that would otherwise end up in landfills. And with many of these organizations, becoming a donor or volunteer is as simple as filling out a form or downloading an app on any mobile device.

Food Tank is excited to highlight 19 organizations with apps that turn food waste into food justice:

412 Food Rescue aims to build a new culture that supports redirecting surplus from food retailers. Located in Pittsburgh and operated through the Food Rescue Hero app, 412 Food Rescue helps every eater and retailer become a “hero” by connecting users with surplus food with nonprofits who serve communities experiencing food insecurity. According to the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work, 412 Food Rescue improved food insecurity for 88 percent of the population they reached in 2018.

Chowberry links participating shops to nongovernmental organizations to provide cheaper food for people needing food in local communities. Located in Nigeria, Chowberry allows organizations to purchase foods about to expire at a discounted price: the discounts become larger the longer the products sit on the shelf. The app also alerts these organizations about a rise in discounted or free food in their area.

Read the full article about the innovative food waste reducing apps by Danielle Nierenberg at Food Tank.