Surplus Food Recovery and Redistribution

This case study by GreenCape examines how FoodForward SA, a Public Benefit Organisation, utilizes a circular economy model to recover and redistribute surplus food in South Africa, specifically focusing on the impact within Cape Town during 2020/21.

• Food waste in South Africa is significant and evenly distributed across the value chain prior to the consumer. In 2012, the country produced and imported approximately 37.5 million tonnes of food for human consumption, but about 10.2 million tonnes (27.2%) was wasted and landfilled, costing an estimated R75 billion per annum, or 2.2% of the national GDP.
• Several factors are driving the need for food rescue in Cape Town, including high municipal landfill gate fees of R533 (excluding 15% VAT) for general waste in 2020/21. Additionally, the Western Cape government has a diversion plan to remove 50% of organic waste from landfills by 2022 and 100% by 2027.
• FoodForward SA operates as a trusted intermediary using two models: a traditional model involving physical assets like warehousing and vehicles, and a digital platform called FoodShare that connects beneficiary organisations directly to retail stores and food outlets.
• In the 2020/2021 period, FoodForward SA directed approximately 7,215 tonnes of surplus food to 1,005 beneficiary organisations across South Africa, providing 29 million meals and supporting roughly 475,000 beneficiaries daily. About 80% of this distributed food was nutritious.
• The impact of FoodForward SA in Cape Town for 2020/21 included the recovery and redistribution of approximately 2,148 tonnes of surplus food to 203 local beneficiary organisations, serving 91,350 beneficiaries daily. This effort resulted in an estimated retail value of R45.0 million and saved donors between R973,151 and R1,187,844 in landfill gate fees.
• Environmental benefits in Cape Town include the saving of approximately 8,592 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, based on an estimate that every tonne of surplus food rescued from landfills saves four tonnes of GHG emissions. Additionally, the rescue of 2,148 tonnes of food secured between 4,296 and 16,523m3 of landfill airspace.
• Financial incentives for donors are provided through FoodForward SA's status as a registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO), which allows for the issuance of Section 18A tax certificates. This resulted in Cape Town donors recovering R3.2 million in tax rebates and South African donors recovering 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} }