What is FoodCloud?

FoodCloud is a non-profit, registered charity. Our role is to match the surplus food in the food industry with demand from big charities in Ireland like St Vincent de Paul and Focus Ireland all the way down to smaller local charities and community groups. This also helps reduce food waste in Ireland. Food companies do not want to see food waste and FoodCloud is the intermediary to help solve this.

How does the organisation work?

There are effectively two sides to the organisation – FoodCloud and FoodCloud Hubs. FoodCloud is a technology solution that connects food businesses and supermarkets with nearby charities and community groups to redistribute surplus food in small and frequent volumes. FoodCloud Hubs is our warehouse distribution model, which allows us to store larger volumes of surplus food from food companies at our three warehouses in Dublin, Cork and Galway.

When was FoodCloud established?

FoodCloud started in 2012. We first began working with supermarkets to redistribute their surplus food to local charities in 2013. We opened our first warehouse hub in Cork in 2014, and followed this with warehouse hubs in Galway and Dublin in 2016.

How many Irish food companies do you work with?

We’re working with over 200 companies in the Irish food industry, from the big companies like Glanbia, the Musgrave Group and Nestlé Ireland right down to the smaller food companies. We’re even working with some farmer producers. But we’re always looking for more partners and to continue growing our donor base.

Do companies have to pay to send their surplus food to FoodCloud?

We don’t charge companies for taking their food waste but there is a cost in running the three warehouse hubs in terms of rent, storage costs, transport and staff. Everything has to be done to the very highest standards in terms of food safety. To run a redistribution network that’s up to a food industry standard you need transport capacity, storage capability (cold, frozen and dry), and maintenance of facilities.

Why is the new partnership you signed with Nestlé Ireland significant?

Nestlé Ireland has not only agreed to supply FoodCloud Hubs with its surplus food but it will also be the first supplier to make a financial contribution to FoodCloud on a per-pallet basis in recognition of the operating costs of the warehouse hubs. This is huge for us and it creates a new sustainable income stream for the FoodCloud social enterprise.

How has FoodCloud covered costs up to now?

Up to now we’ve relied on fundraising, small contributions from our charity partners and employment schemes run by the Department of Social Protection to get by. But we want to grow our operational income. The new partnership with Nestlé Ireland is paving the way for us to enlist other food businesses towards a contribution model in the future and expand our impact across the country.