Start-Ups

8 apps to help you reduce food waste

By // October 6, 2014, 4:00 AM PST // lyndseygilpin

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  • PareUp

    PareUp has connects people with restaurants that have food waste to buy it from that at discounted rates. It's particularly innovative because much of the food waste at stores and restaurants cannot be donated because of food safety regulations. The service is only available in New York City right now, but the team is planning to expand soon.

    Image: PareUp

  • Foodloop

    This startup is located in Germany, and the app is still in development. But the idea is to connect leftover or unwanted food from supermarket to people who want it. You enter a product of choice in the search, and it shows where there is discounted food close to its sell-by date. Or, plug in your grocery of choice and it will alert you when there are foods for sale.

    Image: Foodloop

  • Green Egg Shopper

    Green Egg Shopper helps you figure out the true expiration dates of foods while you're shopping. You can add the purchase dates/best by dates on the list directly on the app so you can plan ahead for meals and waste less food.

    Image: Green Egg Shopper

  • FlashFood

    FlashFood connects food service businesses, food recovery organizations, community centers, and volunteers work together to find perishable food and deliver it to those in need. You can use the app, or sign up to be a volunteer -- what they call a "flash foodie."

    Image: FlashFood

  • Fridge Pal

    Fridge Pal is for making shopping lists, tracking expiration dates, and searching for recipes for your week's ingredients to make better use of them. It's made for meal planning so you can utilize the best food at the right time.

    Image: Fridge Pal

  • Still Tasty

    Simply type in a food into the search bar of Still Tasty and find out how long the shelf life is. plus get tips on how to keep things fresher. It will alert you when your food expires and you can also create shopping lists with the app.

    Image: Still Tasty

  • Home Compost

    Interested in composting, but not sure how to get started? With this app, find out how to use your food scraps to make soil for your garden. It's available on the Android store, and is the most in depth explanation we've seen on an app so far.

    Image: Garden Organic

  • Locavore

    Use this app to look for in-season food in your area, instead of just guessing what you may use at the grocery store. Locavore lists farmer's markets, stores, and recipes for locally sourced food, which could help you waste less.

    Image: Locavore

PareUp

PareUp has connects people with restaurants that have food waste to buy it from that at discounted rates. It's particularly innovative because much of the food waste at stores and restaurants cannot be donated because of food safety regulations. The service is only available in New York City right now, but the team is planning to expand soon.

Image: PareUp

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By Lyndsey Gilpin

Lyndsey Gilpin is a former Staff Writer for TechRepublic, covering sustainability and entrepreneurship. She's co-author of the book Follow the Geeks.