Abstract
Food banks that redistribute surplus food from retailers and the food industry to people in need are not a new concept globally, but their connection to food waste prevention is new. As a result, new types of food redistribution units are emerging and diversifying to find new target groups and distribution methods. The aim of this study was to identify and study surplus food redistribution units in Sweden, and then to assess the impact on several sustainability indicators for selected redistribution units, in order to increase knowledge on the types of values these redistribution concepts generate. The methods used for analyzing the scenarios were Environmental Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing and Social Life Cycle Assessment. The results showed that providing food bags to socially exposed people generated the largest reduction of greenhouse gas emissions per kg of redistributed food (−1.2 kg CO2 eq./FU). Reprocessing surplus food to a high-quality end-product was attributed a high social value, due to job creation effects in the high number of working hours required per kg of redistributed food. With regard to economic impacts, all but two scenarios studied had monthly financial losses, and therefore needed other sources of financial support.
Highlights
Awareness of food waste is growing globally, and is regarded as such an important topic, that it is part of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where the aim is to:“By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses” [1]
Apart from an official goal, opportunities are needed for actors who deal with food, so that surplus food generated can be recirculated in order not to be wasted [5]
According to Hanssen et al [12], food banks in the Nordic region were established later than in other countries in Europe, and the redistribution of food in Sweden has emerged from a willingness to help people in need, rather than to prevent food waste
Summary
Awareness of food waste is growing globally, and is regarded as such an important topic, that it is part of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where the aim is to:“By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses” [1]. Apart from an official goal, opportunities are needed for actors who deal with food, so that surplus food generated can be recirculated in order not to be wasted [5]. This could be part of the circular economy (CE) concept that is emerging as a strategy to achieve sustainable development, with proponents of CE claiming that it will help to achieve economic growth, and at the same time generate environmental and social sustainability [7,8]. According to Hanssen et al [12], food banks in the Nordic region were established later than in other countries in Europe, and the redistribution of food in Sweden has emerged from a willingness to help people in need, rather than to prevent food waste. Many measures originate from third-party organizations, e.g., donations from retail to charity organizations [13] or apps distributing information on where consumers can buy left-over food from restaurants at a reduced price [14]
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