Dive Brief:
- Careit, a food donation app and marketplace, announced Tuesday it is now available nationwide.
- The food rescue platform connects grocers, restaurants, caterers, food distributors and more to local nonprofits and businesses seeking food donations. The receiving organizations can use Careit’s app to arrange for transportation and manage data, such as the weight of the donation.
- As grocers look to tackle food waste, Careit’s expansion provides a new avenue to divert surplus food from landfills.
Dive Insight:
While other food waste prevention apps, such as Too Good to Go and Flashfood, have focused on connecting grocers and other businesses with customers, Careit is focusing on donations to local nonprofits.
The app is free for U.S.-based food donors, corporations, municipalities and nonprofits to give and accept food donations. For advanced features, such as data reporting to help with tax deductions, there’s a subscription fee.
Careit noted in the announcement that its expansion comes at a time when SNAP emergency allotments are ending soon or have already recently stopped — impacting SNAP participants’ grocery spending power.
It also follows The Food Donation Improvement Act, which was signed into law in January and expands liability protection related to food donation.
“We’re proud to be the first woman-owned, free app to tackle prepared food waste to help feed people of all ages – young to our honored senior citizens – who need food and may not have access to kitchens,” Careit CEO Alyson Schill said in the announcement. “During this critical time in our country, our goal is to onboard more businesses and nonprofits in the Careit app and increase impact tracking for policy initiatives to rescue more surplus food to provide hunger relief.”
Started in Los Angeles, Careit launched in 2021 and uses smart algorithms and Geographic Information System technology. To date, Careit has rescued 8 million pounds of food and with its expansion to all 50 states, the company is now aiming to rescue 50 million pounds of food.
Target, Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market are among the grocers using Careit, per a spokesperson for the food waste prevention company.
Careit’s data collection and management tools enter the grocery industry as it faces growing pressure around food waste prevention and sharing their sustainability efforts with stakeholders.
Along with the app marketplace, Careit offers in-person and virtual workshops to train new users on food donation safety and how to use the Careit app.
