Surplus food from farms and firms onto forks

This report by WWF South Africa outlines the business and climate case for redirecting surplus food—edible food that is not 'true waste'—from farms and firms to people in need. It identifies significant opportunities for greenhouse gas mitigation and socio-economic benefit, while highlighting systemic barriers such as liability concerns and date labelling.

• A significant volume of food waste in South Africa is generated early in the value chain, with agricultural production accounting for 26%, post-harvest handling and storage for 24%, processing and packaging for 25%, and distribution and retail for 20%. Consumer waste is the smallest share at 5%.
• Redirecting surplus food provides substantial climate benefits by avoiding greenhouse gas emissions from landfill decomposition and the resources used in production. For example, Food Forward's donation of 4,400 tonnes of surplus food in 2017/8 avoided 17,400 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
• There is a large potential for scaling surplus food recovery in the grocery retail sector. It is estimated that a total potential of about 40,000 tonnes exists across the grocery retail sector each year, though current recovery by Food Forward from two main retailers represents only about 1,700 tonnes annually.
• The business case for firms to redirect surplus food includes financial incentives such as income from secondary markets, tax benefits (up to 10% of taxable income via Section 18A receipts), and the avoidance of landfill gate fees, which can reach up to R558.90 per tonne at some municipal sites.
• Several barriers hinder the redistribution of surplus food, including concerns over brand erosion, liability for health risks, and the restrictive nature of date labelling. Many firms treat food as waste once it passes 'sell by' or 'best before' dates, even when the food remains safe for consumption.
• Technology is increasingly used to coordinate surplus food logistics. Examples include the FoodShare virtual platform, WhatsApp groups used in the Worcester Farm–ECD programme, and smartphone apps like 'Food for us' being trialled in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape.

APA

Rivett-Carnac, K., & von Bormann, T. (2018). Surplus food from farms and firms onto forks. WWF South Africa. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_2018_surplus_foods_from_farms_and_firms_onto_forks.pdf

Chicago

Rivett-Carnac, Kate, and Tatjana von Bormann. Surplus food from farms and firms onto forks. WWF South Africa, 2018. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_2018_surplus_foods_from_farms_and_firms_onto_forks.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rivett-Carnac |first1=Kate |last2=von Bormann |first2=Tatjana |title=Surplus food from farms and firms onto forks |publisher=WWF South Africa |date=2018 |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_2018_surplus_foods_from_farms_and_firms_onto_forks.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rivettcarnac2018surplus, author = {Rivett-Carnac, Kate and von Bormann, Tatjana}, title = {{Surplus food from farms and firms onto forks}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2018}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_2018_surplus_foods_from_farms_and_firms_onto_forks.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }