Unwanted leftovers find new homes with Calgary food-sharing app

A new food-sharing app is fighting food waste by connecting unwanted leftovers with hungry Calgarians. 

The app allows donors — who could be home cooks, restaurants or even grocers — to donate food to buyers, who could be individuals or families in the city. The price ranges from free to a maximum $10, which gets donated to the Leftovers Foundation or Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids. 

GOAT, which is a slang acronym for Greatest Of All Time, was launched by Ivonne Gamboa in August and now has about 350 users and agreements with 10 restaurants in Calgary.

"We are building a platform that will … support our society to be the greatest of all time, the one that really looks after each other but also supports the environment by reducing food waste," Gamboa told the Calgary Eyeopener on Wednesday.

To post their meal, donors take a photo of their food, write a brief description of the dish and select an optional price.

After both parties agree on a pickup time, the donor will pack up the food and place it outside their door in time for the buyer to come by and grab it.

"It's like inviting a neighbour over for dinner for takeout," Gamboa said. 

Gamboa acknowledges there could be some concerns around food safety and freshness, which is why the app requires users to post their food within 48 hours of creating the meal.

"I think it comes into play the trust that we will have in our community. Nothing is 100 per cent [fool-]proof, but we are releasing this app thinking that families in our community have the good faith to help others without doing harm," she said.

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener.