Google survey
To determine the demand for food procurement services and applications, I sent surveys to food industry workers. This project has no funding, so the response rate is low, but I did my best to assess the relevance of this project by spreading out the survey over a year.
Please scroll down for responses, otherwise this empathy map summarizes key findings.
Empathy map
Here is a list of all questions asked:
- 1. If you have worked in the food industry, please list the name(s) of the business(es) you were employed at.
- 2. Did your employer throw out surplus food, excluding consumer waste?
- 3. If you answered yes to the previous question, what kind of products did your employer discard?
- 4. Did your organization donate surplus food to nonprofits?
- 5. If you answered 'Yes' to the previous question, what kind of products were donated?
- 6. Did your employer sell surplus food to discounted markets such as Grocery Outlet?
- 7. If you answered 'Yes' to the previous question, what kind of products were sold?
- 8. Were you alarmed by the amount of surplus food at your job?
- 9. Were you provided staff meals?
- 10. If you answered 'Yes' to the previous question, were staff meals made from surplus food?
- 11. Were you gifted surplus food to take home?
- 12. Do you think that restaurants and grocery stores regularly have sustainable, healthy surplus food that they are able to donate to nonprofits?
Survey responses from 2021:
1. If you have worked in the food industry, please list the name(s) of the business(es) you were employed at.
- Actually worked in a hospital kitchen at Littleton Adventist Hospital
- Marriot hotel
- Homegrown Tap & Dough in Olde Town Arvada
- King Soopers
2. Did your employer throw out surplus food, excluding consumer waste?
3. If you answered yes to the previous question, what kind of products did your employer discard?
- A lot of discarded food was prepared food that was leftover from the day.
- Meats, starches, vegetables, and desserts
- Mostly vegetables and salad! Healthy foods are the ones that are perishable!
- I honestly don't know. I just worked up front for a short time.
4. Did your organization donate surplus food to nonprofits?
5. If you answered 'Yes' to the previous question, what kind of products were donated?
- I don't know.
6. Did your employer sell surplus food to discounted markets such as Grocery Outlet?
7. If you answered 'Yes' to the previous question, what kind of products were sold?
- No responses
8. Were you alarmed by the amount of surplus food at your job?
9. Were you provided staff meals?
10. If you answered 'Yes' to the previous question, were staff meals made from surplus food?
11. Were you gifted surplus food to take home?
12. Do you think that restaurants and grocery stores regularly have sustainable, healthy surplus food that they are able to donate to nonprofits?
- I haven't worked in the food industry but I have family who have worked in the grocery industry. They have commented that there is an immense amount of food that is wasted.
- Yes I do. Almost all food that is prepared whether in a hospital or restaurant can be donated. The biggest obstacle is the FDA and other laws that prohibit it due to sanitation/health laws, avoidance to legality issues (i.e.being sued for someone getting sick) and just plain greed.
- I think some do and others may toss expired food
- Yes
Survey responses from 2022:
1. If you have worked in the food industry, please list the name(s) of the business(es) you were employed at.
- Chilis
- Wishbone Chicken
- Publix
- Subway
- Amazon test labs & Stores
- Pho Kim Long
- Jet's Pizza
- Istanbul FoodLovers
- Ox
2. Did your employer throw out surplus food, excluding consumer waste?
3. If you answered yes to the previous question, what kind of products did your employer discard?
- Expired product, so anything from salsa to ranch, meat as well
- Noodles, Fries
- Deli products--fried chicken, deli meat, deli cheese, sandwiches, salads, puddings, sandwich ingredients
- Bread, cookies, and meat
- If bad or expired dates - the rest if still good would get donated to food banks & Mary's place same day for that night hand outs.
- Vegetables and fruits that had 'gone bad'
- Unused Pizza Dough
- Chicken and Lamb Kebabs, pita bread, yoghurt, salads
4. Did your organization donate surplus food to nonprofits?
5. If you answered 'Yes' to the previous question, what kind of products were donated?
- * Mary's Place of Seattle, WA.
6. Did your employer sell surplus food to discounted markets such as Grocery Outlet?
7. If you answered 'Yes' to the previous question, what kind of products were sold?
- No responses
8. Were you alarmed by the amount of surplus food at your job?
9. Were you provided staff meals?
10. If you answered 'Yes' to the previous question, were staff meals made from surplus food?
11. Were you gifted surplus food to take home?
12. Do you think that restaurants and grocery stores regularly have sustainable, healthy surplus food that they are able to donate to nonprofits?
