Creating Food Smart Cities

http://foodtank.com/news/2015/01/twenty-three-mobile-apps-changing-the-food-system

Mobile device apps to connect people to more healthy food and to prevent food waste have proliferated. That is, according to Danielle Nierenberg and Kathleen Corr. They write that because of a correspondence between consumer demand for smartphones and sustainable food, these apps “are helping eaters, producers, advocates, and activists lead less wasteful and more environmentally sustainable, healthy, and delicious lives.” In an article for Foodtank.com, Nierenberg and Corr describe 23 mobile apps that are changing the food system. Apps, such as Locavore, help people locate farmers markets in their neighborhood. Food Community is an app that helps consumers find “vegan, vegetarian, kosher, gluten-free, locally-grown, and organic restaurants.” There is also an app, GoPure, that informs consumers about the quality of food in local restaurants and allows users to “suggest restaurants, add information, and get the inside scoop on sustainable foods at their favorite establishments.” There is even an app, Leloca, to help restaurants prevent food waste by offering 30 to 50% discounts on meals at certain times of the day.
These mobile food apps are helping to define the smart city. Combined with smartphones, they are facilitating the establishment of a more sustainable food system by addressing social, economic, and environmental problems related to food. With over 1 million New Yorkers food insecure and organic waste amounting to about a third of the 4 million tons of waste that New York City sends to landfills annually, mobile food apps are creating food smart cities.