Daily Table, Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

Food waste solutions

Alvarez has written several case studies, including a 2012 piece about the former president of Trader Joe’s and a fellow at Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative: Doug Rauch: Solving the American Food Paradox. The case was co-authored by Ryan Johnson, research associate with the Global Research Group.

Rauch came up with one solution: In June 2015, he opened Daily Table, a not-for-profit grocery store in Dorchester, Massachusetts that works with growers, supermarkets, manufacturers, and other suppliers who donate or offer special buying opportunities for their excess food. The store then sells the food at significantly reduced prices from what is charged by grocery and convenience stores—in many cases, half the price—allowing families to eat healthier even on a tight budget.

Open for a little more than a year, the store is thriving—and it may be the first of many like it to come, says Alvarez, who joined the board of the organization after writing the case.

A key decision for Rauch was to sell the food at low cost rather than simply hand it out for free at food shelters.

Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge

Up to 40% of the food grown in the U.S. for human consumption is wasted. Here's what businesses are doing about it: http://hbs.me/2ebnktW

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

After decades of wasteful food practices, where perfectly good food is discarded even as poverty keeps many families hungry, solutions are starting to come together from food retailers, farmers, academics, policy makers,…

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