Leveraging Technology to Support Hungry Communities

ISS Guckenheimer has teamed with certified woman and minority-owned food recovery and distribution business Goodr to reroute surplus food from corporate cafeterias and dining venues to people in need.

A primary challenge to businesses operating in the food services industry is creating enough product to meet customer need demand while also minimising excess production in order to keep costs down and avoid waste. Occupancy fluctuations due to the pandemic have at times made this balance more difficult to achieve. Faced with instances of surplus product, ISS A/S foodservice brand, ISS Guckenheimer, is leveraging Goodr technology, national networks and logistics to get food to charities suipporting those who need it most.

Goodr’s technology includes a dashboard with waste tracking metrics for chefs to reduce food cost. Through this dashboard, chefs can track donation trends and adjust prep levels or scale back ordering of specific items as needed. The system also allows food service teams to notice new trends in dining. For example, frequent donations of meat entrees may prompt chefs to increase plant-forward offerings. Goodr’s technology also provides waste diversion rates as well as the social and environmental impact of a company’s Surplus Food Recovery efforts. In 2021, Goodr’s Surplus Food Recovery programme served over 480,000 meals and diverted more than 580,000 pounds, across all of its partners.

Paul Fairhead, ISS Guckenheimer CEO, comments: “We’re extremely happy with the results so far with this programme and our relationship with Goodr.

“We consider this programme a triple win: we provide nutritious meals to people who need them; lower greenhouse emissions through diverted food that would otherwise end up in landfills; and reduce costs by analysing data and making iterative improvements to offerings and purchases.”

“We are proud of the impact our partnership with ISS Guckenheimer is already having on the company and their local community,” adds Jasmine Crowe, founder and CEO of Goodr. “We look forward to continuing our work together to reduce ISS Guckenheimer’s food waste and fight hunger with our technology and logistics.”

By diverting excess food, the new programme aligns with ISS’ published strategy for reaching full-scope net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040; further supporting the group’s mission of helping clients minimise their impact on the environment by reducing the use of energy and water, decreasing carbon emissions and cutting production of waste – including food.