By: Adelaide RIVEREAU, Food and Circular Economy Manager, Chamber of Agriculture of Pays de la Loire, AC3A’s sub-partner in Food Heroes
The following initiative is highlighted within the Food Heroes project, which aims to reduce food waste in agriculture through innovative solutions.
Located in Legé in the region of Pays de la Loire, Guy Gicquel is a market gardener working on a 2.5ha land (1.7ha open air). Him and his two employees grow vegs such as carrots, broccoli, cardoon, parsnip, spinach, salad, cabbage, and chili.
Guy’s distribution network is highly diversified: online sales, direct sales at farmers markets and in grocery stores. He also works with food services industry, such as collective catering companies at schools.
Nevertheless, despite his numerous networks, it’s hard for him to sell his nonstandard vegetables – too small, too big, ugly; as well as his surplus production. This leads to food losses, which respectively costs labor, energy, water to produce in the first place. One of Guy’s clients has recommended him an online application called “Too Good To Go,” which solved his food waste problems once and for all. Too Good To Go offers a simple, free-of-charge way for producers to find new distribution networks for their unsold or unsellable products; and for consumers to contribute to fighting food waste while spending less money. Users of Too Good To Go discover what is offered by producers and sellers via online application, pay online, and pick up their products during collection periods.
In practice, Guy as producer sells his products at one third of their market value and the first 40€ of profit goes to Too Good To Go, later on, it is 1€ per sale. Since July 2017, he sold more than 900 baskets, only in November 2017 the number of baskets sold was 230. An estimated between 1,900 and 4,800 kg of food has been consumed instead of composted.
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