The Plus3 Ireland is coming to an end, and today was our last site visit. We visited FoodCloud, a nonprofit that stores and distributes surplus food, connecting companies with excess food to places in need. I learned a lot during the presentation and tour of the warehouse.

FoodCloud has made itself part of the community in a variety of ways. Immediately after we arrived, a man remembered one of our program leaders, Meade, which shows how FoodCloud employees care for their consumers and visitors. He thanked her for the bag she gave him a year ago that he still uses every day, which was a very cool moment that speaks to FoodCloud’s business model. They work closely with local food banks and charities, building a strong sense of community through positive interaction with consumers. It has been described as “Christmas” because you do not know what food you are going to get on any given day, but people are still very excited about it.

Being founded in 2023, FoodCloud has grown extremely fast and innovatively. I was impressed by their technology platform, “Foodiverse.” With Foodiverse, you can collect food directly from donors, making the distribution process quicker and easier. The app rewards you with the title “Rescue Hero,” positively reinforcing food donations. It creates convenience for the customer and optimization for FoodCloud. The app records analytics and helps the business understand surplus food patterns to make food production more efficient. I was unaware of how grand food waste is as an issue in the world, and this visit really helped shed some light on it for me, inspiring me to manage my food better.

Also here is our goodbye dinner, it was a great sendoff.