Despite the fact that 96% of the 2 million farms in the United States are family-owned, the top 5% of farms, primarily operated by major businesses, account for 75% of sales. Worst of all, one-third of the food produced by local families is never consumed.
CropMobster, an innovative online platform, is addressing this issue by assisting family farms in finding customers for their extra food—while augmenting their income, it also directs food to those in need.
CropMobster has saved over a million servings of local food from going to waste to date.
“In my area, I don’t believe in competition,” Papadopoulos told TechRepublic. “In almost every situation, these firms are completely complementary.”
The website, which was launched in 2013, allows farmers to offer leftover food and other farm items for sale, allowing customers to purchase these valuable supplies at a reasonable cost.
Farmers can also list their surplus items for donation if they like. CropMobster also advertises leftover goods on Facebook and other social media platforms, as well as a free email list for members.
CropMobster has assisted an elementary school in starting a vegetable garden, has offered a simple vehicle for a grocery delivery firm to contribute its leftovers, and has assisted the Ceres Community Project in acquiring food for its nutritious meal programs for the seriously ill.
“We had a professional chef publish the contents of her fridge, and everything was gone in an hour,” Papadopoulos explained.
CropMobster is addressing the climate catastrophe in addition to its philanthropic and family-farm-sustaining efforts.
If food waste were a country, it would rank third in the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, trailing only China and the United States.
Every day, these emissions are lowered by assisting producers in finding individuals who require their extra food.
Both farmers and buyers can utilize CropMobster’s web platform for free. Watch the video below and go to cropmobster.com to learn more or get involved. (Image courtesy of GaryCedar/Cropmobster)