Episode 12: Tackling food waste with Michal Garvey, Founder of Foodprint

Pictured above: Michal Garvey and Lilah McDonald.

In this episode of Sustainably Ever After, host Lilah McDonald speaks with Michal Garvey, Founder of Foodprint, a food rescue app helping cafes, restaurants, and supermarkets reduce food waste by selling surplus food at a discount.

Every year, 50,000 tonnes of food waste is generated by New Zealand’s cafes, restaurants, and supermarkets, much of which ends up in landfills where it produces methane – a greenhouse gas 20-30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Globally, 8-10 percent of total emissions come from food waste alone.

But what if we could turn food waste into an opportunity?

Enter Foodprint, an innovative food rescue app which connects consumers with eateries selling surplus food at discounted prices. By preventing good food from being thrown away, Foodprint not only reduces waste but also helps businesses recover costs and consumers access affordable, high-quality meals.

Here, Michal shares her journey from witnessing food waste firsthand while working at a hotel in Colorado, to launching a start-up that is actively fighting food waste across New Zealand. She shares the challenges of building a tech-based sustainability business, the role of food waste in climate change, and how small changes in consumer and business behaviour can have a big impact.

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Episode highlights

The environmental cost of food waste: Why food that ends up in landfill doesn’t simply biodegrade but instead contributes significantly to climate change.

How Foodprint works: Discover how the app connects eateries with surplus food to consumers looking for great deals while helping the planet.

Tech for good: Michal’s journey into the world of food technology, how she built a digital solution without a tech background, and the importance of making sustainability easy for consumers.

Beyond the bin: Practical steps for businesses and individuals to reduce food waste before it happens and ensure that unavoidable waste is properly handled.

The future of food rescue: Exciting trends in food waste innovation, including up-cycling, waste reduction policies, and the role of technology in making the food industry more sustainable.

“Reducing food waste is the most effective climate action we can take—more than electric cars or solar panels.” – Michal Garvey

Get in touch

Website – nzbusiness.co.nz/podcasts
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Find out more about Footprint

Website – foodprint.app
Facebook – @FoodprintNZ
Instagram – @foodprintnz

A special thanks to sponsors of this podcast, Milford Foundation that is supporting education, youth and the environment to build a better tomorrow for all New Zealanders.