Lean Canvas and Analysis Introduction

Discovering a Solution to Food Waste

Food Waste: A High-Level Description

Food has a long journey before it is eaten — or thrown away. The process of food circulation is carried out by a complex system. The chart below, published by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, depicts the modern food supply chain.

Each step of the process inevitably faces some degree of food loss, but the large amount of food loss suggests much of this is preventable waste. Food Waste: A Fermi Analysis cites ReFed, which estimates 52.4 million tons of food waste is thrown in a landfill yearly. The costs of U.S. food waste is immense: $218 billion a year, 2.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, and 80 million acres in land. The composition of this waste could suggest targets for waste reduction and provide insight on the causes of food waste. Statistica provides an estimate of the weight of food discarded without being served to a consumer by item type.

Notably, the chart claims that over a third of food waste is produce. These items have a lower shelf-life and require more maintenance than other items. A solution that assists in managing use of these food items could be effective in reducing waste. The location of this food waste in the supply chain can suggest potential points of intervention. A USDA report provides a measure of the loss of produce.

These findings led our group to a meaningful point of intervention recognized as consumer discard of perishable items without use or preparation for a meal. Of the many actors with a stake in the food economy, each has invested in their interest in efficiently using food — except consumers. Accordingly, an innovation that can overcome the general indifference of consumers to the economic and social costs of their food waste would result in the largest impact on food waste reduction. Our group organized this problem as “Questions Moving Forward” to consider in our attempt to discover a solution.

Questions moving forward:

How can we motivate people to save food? Why is a solution worth the extra effort to a consumer?

How can saving food become easier? How can it become a habit? What makes it hard to measure food waste?

Our group used Lean Canvas, a tool on LEANSTACK continuous innovation platform, to evaluate the realizability of various hypothetical products to reduce food waste.