Annual Report 2015

Welcome

Welcome to FoodCloud's annual report where we will share and celebrate the success that this young organisation has had in 2015. FoodCloud is a not-for-profit social enterprise that connects food businesses that have too much food with charities that have too little through a cloud-based platform and mobile application.

FoodCloud launched in October 2013 in Dublin City Centre, with one Tesco store, a few small food businesses and six partner charities and has since grown to have over 160 donors and 350 partner charities across Ireland and the UK.

In the last 12 months, we have facilitated the redistribution of over 1 million meals to our charity partners. In our Chairman's report, Eoin McCuirc, will share our key milestones and achievements this year.

FoodCloud could not have achieved this year's success without all of the support we have received and we would like to thank all of our volunteers, businesses and charities for their dedicated and continued support.

Chairs Report

Directors Report

As the Chairman's report reflects on the achievements and accolades that FoodCloud has received this year, our CEO, Iseult Ward, looks to the future and the opportunities that FoodCloud has to improve and expand this year.

The problem of food waste globally has had a lot more recognition this year, from the introduction of new legislation in France to the UN stating that reducing food waste by 25% could feed all the people who are malnourished globally.

As FoodCloud expands in the UK, we have a great opportunity to develop the model at scale and work to achieve a true global impact.

Our Community

FoodCloud have been very fortunate to have built a great community of businesses and charities that are helping solve the problem of wasted food.

What our team says

The journey of a donation.

We want to extend our thanks to documentary photographer Laura Poortenga who worked with Cope Galway and Tesco in Galway to visually track the journey of the food. The aim of the project was to capture the journey and transformation of food that would have been otherwise thrown away into a delicious meal for someone. FoodCloud is facilitated through technology but is built on local community relationships. It allows businesses and charities to come together to solve the problems associated with food waste and food poverty within their own communities and make a meaningful and practical difference. The 'Journey of Food' shows the positive impact that businesses and charities are having through shared food.

  • The store posts a donation through the FoodCloud app which send a text message to the charity informing them of the donation.

  • Cope Galway have a dedicated team of volunteers that collect the food donations from the store and bring them back to the premises.

  • Cope Galway have built a strong relationship with the staff in the store and by working together they are building community through shared food.

  • Working with FoodCloud allows many of our partner charities to reduce their food bills and redirect resource towards their core services

  • Our partner charities receive a variety of food products including bakery, fresh fruit and veg and chilled produce.

  • By receiving donations charities can supply items that they may not be able to otherwise providing their clients a more varied and diverse diet.

  • Our partner charities have developed good systems for managing the food donations and for using the food to maximum benefit.

  • Cope Galway works with people affected by homelessness, women & children experiencing domestic violence and older people.

  • Cope Galway have an incredible team who cook up healthy and delicious meals for their clients. Staff and volunteers play an instrumental role in this system; many selflessly give up their time to collect food donations and prepare the food.

  • In Ireland, 1 million tonnes of food goes to waste every year

  • At the same time 1 in ten people suffer from food poverty

  • FoodCloud redistributes surplus food to partner charities that provide critical services in youth, childcare, homelessness, addictions, domestic abuse, education and unemployment. Our partner charities use the foods in different ways, some deliver food parcels, some cook on site.

  • Charities develop innovative ways of using the donated food. Some have made jam from donated fruit and other have used the food top provide cooking classes or group cooking sessions.

  • The charities have either integrated the surplus food into their existing services or have developed new infrastructures to use the food, for example a food redistribution system.

  • Together these organisations serve almost 90,000 people every week.

  • Food is more than sustenance, it has amazing powers to connect and empower people.

  • Sharing food can break down barriers and is an effective tool to encourage initial and continued contact with clients.

  • Businesses can HAVE a real and practical impact in their local areas and create positive social change in their communities.

  • There is creative exchange amongst staff and clients, where ideas and experiences around the use of surplus food are shared. It can be a wonderful catalyst to starting conversations.

  • Food is not only essential to survival, health and wellbeing; it shapes our environment, underpins our economy, helps build resilient and empowered communities and is at the heart of our society. Food can be used as a tool to drive social and environmental change and the FoodCloud initiative strengthens the argument that 'no good food should go to waste'.

  • Food redistribution, which is concerned with diverting discarded food, that is perfectly fit for human consumption, to charitable groups, has been put forward as one of the best win-win solutions for reducing food waste.

Key Developments

Financials

Income and expenditure

In 2015 it cost FoodCloud 22 cent for every meal equivalent that was donated to one of our partner charities.

In 2016 we aim to reduce this to 20 cent a meal in Ireland.

2015

Operational Income: 84%

Grants & Awards: 15%

Donations: 1%

2014

Operational Income: 22%

Grants & Awards: 6%

Donations: 70%

Donations: 2%

With special Thanks to:

Denis Manzke - Web Design
Stephen Fennessey - Video
light explorers - Main image