Surplus Food Recovery and Redistribution

The document examines the role of FoodForward SA as a trusted intermediary in South Africa's food supply chain, using a circular economy lens to divert surplus food from landfills to those in need. It highlights the economic and environmental drivers for food rescue in Cape Town, such as high landfill fees and provincial organic waste diversion targets. In 2020/21, FoodForward SA redistributed approximately 7,215 tonnes of food nationally, with specific impacts in Cape Town including the saving of 8,592 tonnes of GHG emissions and the creation of R45 million in retail value from rescued food.

• Food waste in South Africa is distributed evenly across the value chain prior to the consumer, meaning production, handling, processing, and distribution stages all contribute significantly to wastage.
• In 2012, South Africa wasted and landfilled approximately 10.2 million tonnes of food (27.2% of the total produced and imported), costing an estimated R75 billion per annum, or 2.2% of the national GDP.
• Several regulatory and economic factors drive the need for food rescue in Cape Town, including the highest municipal landfill gate fees in South Africa (R533 excl. VAT for 2020/21) and a Western Cape provincial plan to divert 50% of organic waste from landfills by 2022 and 100% by 2027.
• FoodForward SA operates as a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) that uses both a traditional physical asset model and a digital platform called FoodShare to redistribute surplus food.
• During the 2020/2021 period, FoodForward SA redistributed approximately 7,215 tonnes of surplus food to 1,005 beneficiary organisations across South Africa, providing 29 million meals and supporting roughly 475,000 daily beneficiaries.
• In Cape Town specifically for 2020/21, FoodForward SA rescued ~2,148 tonnes of food, which resulted in an estimated saving of 8,592 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a retail value of approximately R45.0 million.
• Food rescue provides financial benefits to donors through tax rebates and reduced waste costs; Cape Town donors recovered R3.2 million in tax rebates, while South African donors overall recovered R20.9 million.

APA

GreenCape (2020). Surplus Food Recovery and Redistribution. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EI_CASE_STUDY_6_4_21-3.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Surplus Food Recovery and Redistribution. 2020. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EI_CASE_STUDY_6_4_21-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Surplus Food Recovery and Redistribution |date=2020 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EI_CASE_STUDY_6_4_21-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2020surplus, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Surplus Food Recovery and Redistribution}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2020}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EI_CASE_STUDY_6_4_21-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }