Innovation

Pokeshnaya and Kofeshnaya is a cafe in Perm (Perm Krai, Russia) that engages in foodsharing. Foodsharing is a new business innovation for Perm Krai. How does it works? Every day volunteers come to the cafe to take packages of food before the cafe closes. The employees are instructed to put leftovers into containers at the end of the day. The owner of the cafe Artyom Zaitsev we interviewed told many details about the innovation. For example, the staff gives away the food products are not going to be used for cooking the following day. These products must be eaten within 20 hours, and the volunteers decide who gets this food.

The innovation is related to the company’s mission. According to the manager, Pokeshnaya and Kofeshnaya`s mission is to feed people either for a fee at the cafe or for free – using foodsharing.

Inspiration

The owner of the cafe Artyom Zaitsev said that ‘the main goal of implementing foodsharing was to reduce the amount of waste. It can be achieved in two ways: either the cafe sells all the food or the cafe feeds people for free.’ In Perm there is no specific mechanism that allows owners of restaurants to donate food without incurring additional expenses. This is why when Artyom read an Internet article about foodsharing, he decided to try it.

The interviewee also gave two other reasons that motivate him to share food. Firstly, Artyom mentioned that he grew up in the 1990s, when he had to eat up all the food he was given. Secondly, sharing food allows to spend less money on waste utilization. He believes that foodsharing is a good deed out of pragmatic motives, where the social effect is s a basis of foodsharing ideas and the economic effect is a bonus for the cafe.

Overall impact

The company’s innovation has a significant impact on the business, society and the environment. Providing free food for socially unprotected people helps to alleviate hunger. The cafe staff and volunteers from charity organizations take part in this process. Foodsharing also allows to reduce the cost of garbage disposal and utilization because all the products are consumed. In turn, the lack of food waste reduces the impact on the environment and people's health.

The short-term effect is the full consumption of food products. This way the company’s profit grows as the waste disposal costs are reduced. The products not used in food preparation are transferred to the needy through charity organizations. Typical leftovers include rice, salmon and seafood. On different days, the quantity and variety of leftover food is different: sometimes it is only rice, and on some days there is nothing left. In this way the organization realizes the UN Global Goals of Zero Hunger (2) and Responsible Consumption, (12) providing food support to the needy and reducing food waste to zero.

The long-term effect is a more favorable image of the company. The business innovation increases the loyalty of the employees and the awareness of cafe among volunteers and charity organizations. Thus, more and more people are aware of the cafe's foodsharing initiative.

Business benefit

Even though people involved in foodsharing at the cafe are obviously not motivated by cash benefits, this innovation does make sense in business terms as well.

First of all, foodsharing cuts the expenses on waste utilization. A small cafe does not need a huge budget for utilization, but, as any other company that produces waste, it has to spend some money on its disposal. Foodsharing allows to save this money and to take part in a social responsibility initiative at the same time. Through this innovation, Pokeshnaya and Kofeshnaya not only use up all of their products and do poor people good but also cut down on operating expenses.

This innovation could also contribute to a more positive public image of the cafe among its staff and clients. If people's awareness about this innovation increases, then cafe may also have more clients among environmentalists and charity workers. Pokeshnaya and Kofeshnaya may also influence other businesses, such as cafes, bakeries and restaurants, by involving them in foodsharing.

Social and environmental benefit

This innovation has a huge impact on both society and the environment. First of all, foodsharing helps to feed those in need. The cafe provides people from different parts of society with free and high-quality food, but most of the food goes to the poor. This way cafe helps to reduce hunger among the poor in the Perm city and thereby contribute to achieving the second goal of sustainable development, ‘Zero Hunger’.

Secondly, this innovation pursues an environmental goal. Every day cafes throw out a huge amount of food and by-products. The processing of food waste can damage the environment and people’s health. Pokeshnaya and Kofeshnaya cafe reduces its environmental footprint by preventing food from being thrown away and this way achieves another goal of sustainable development, ‘Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns’. Thus, foodsharing helps to reduce economic, environmental and social costs and promotes ideas of responsible consumption by sharing food with those who are in need.

Interview

Artyom Zaitsev, Artyom Zaitsev, the business owner