{"id":1789,"date":"2015-10-30T19:45:23","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T23:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/shopsharecrop-how-to-support-a-closed-food-loop-economy\/"},"modified":"2015-10-30T19:45:52","modified_gmt":"2015-10-30T23:45:52","slug":"shopsharecrop-how-to-support-a-closed-food-loop-economy","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/shopsharecrop-how-to-support-a-closed-food-loop-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"ShopShareCrop: How to support a closed food loop economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a recent trip home, I noticed that my mother-in-law had a few overripe bananas on the counter. I thought to myself, \u2018Those are just perfect for banana bread, maybe I\u2019ll make some tomorrow.\u2019 The next morning, I noticed they were gone. When I asked what happened to the bunch of bananas, she casually mentioned, \u201cOh, I threw them out because they were going bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unfortunate journey of those overripe bananas is far too common \u2013 as a country, the US wastes over 20 lbs. of food per person per month<\/a>\u00a0, most of it deemed unwanted based on appearances of defects, over ripeness, or minor bruising. While some of this food waste is mitigated through food banks, most of it truly ends up in the trash.<\/p>\n

One idea to solve this problem and create a community appreciated by foodies, environmentalists, and \u00a0frugal shoppers alike would be to create an online market where individuals can crowd source excess food from neighbors, barter produce from their own gardens, and help eliminate food waste and excess food spending within local communities. I\u2019ve coined this model, \u201cShopShareCrop\u201d.<\/p>\n

ShopShareCrop is an online platform that will allow users to perform the following tasks:<\/p>\n

Shop<\/em> \u2013 Users can type in the name of produce that they are looking for i.e. 2 cucumbers, and purchase these items from other users nearby. Transportation of the goods would be negotiated between users<\/p>\n

Share<\/em> \u2013 Users can list excess produce that they would like to donate to others online, in addition to sharing recipes, tips on picking the best produce, etc.<\/p>\n

Crop<\/em> \u2013 Users can crowd source recipes and ingredients from \u201cshop\u201d and \u201cshare\u201d members. For instance, if John is looking to make a healthy snack, he can search through recipes shared by other users, and narrow this list based on the availability of the ingredients for sale\/exchange\/donation currently on the platform.<\/p>\n

Value Creation<\/strong><\/p>\n

ShopShareCrop will create value for four distinct types of consumers:<\/p>\n

Grocery Shopaholics<\/em> \u2013 Many consumers tend to buy groceries either in bulk or in excess of what we actually consume. The shopper who sees a \u20184 for $2\u2019 advertisement for tomatoes will often purchase all four instead of buying two. With ShopShareCrop, this shopper can either list the 2 tomatoes online for sale or exchange them for another form of produce.<\/p>\n

The Frugal shopper<\/em> \u2013 College students and young professionals often seek to purchase groceries at a discount, which leads to purchases skewed toward processed foods instead of fresh produce. When a recipe calls for tomatoes, it typically requires an impromptu trip to a grocery store. With the ShopShareCrop model, these students would be able to source such ingredients from local neighbors in for purchase.<\/p>\n

The Green Thumb<\/em>s \u2013 Many middle-aged adults take pride in having their own gardens and creating a mini farm-to-table ecosystem within their own home. However, as these adults can only consume a portion of their produce, ShopShareCrop will give them an outlet to sell or donate the excess produce to their neighbors.<\/p>\n

Environmentalists<\/em> \u2013 While food waste is a societal problem that affects us all, those consumers who are more environmentally conscious would prefer to sustainably purchase and share produce in a way that supports a closed food loop economy.<\/p>\n

Value Capture<\/strong><\/p>\n

This site will capture value by making transaction data available to local farmer\u2019s markets and food co-operatives, as it will allow them to understand where there is demand for produce sourced outside of the standard supermarket environment, and will also reveal which crops are in high demand, low demand, overpurchased, etc. The platform will be free for users who sell\/exchange produce less than 5 times per month, but for avid users looking to monetize their home gardens or recoup losses from overspending on groceries, there will be a small transaction fee ( i.e. 3% of the total resale value).<\/p>\n

Why communities will love this<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to the reasons outlined within the value creation section, users of this crowdsourcing platform will also appreciate the ability to connect and build relationships with neighbors with whom they would ordinarily never come into contact with. The proverbial \u201cborrowing a cup of sugar\u201d from a neighbor no longer exists<\/a> in the world of FreshDirect and Instacart, leaving little opportunity to interact with neighboring apartment tenants in metropolitan cities. As the world seeks to make everything virtually connected, opportunities to swap your overripe bananas for tomatoes with a neighbor, while sharing recipes for banana bread and bruschetta, are few and far between. ShopShareCrop seeks to change that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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