Six Stellenbosch-based food service businesses have partnered with a recently-launched app to sell their surplus food to the public at a discounted price.
This is according to Jakob Holbak, main founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the app, Refreshi, which reached 1 100 downloads within the first week of launching.
Refreshi launched on 10 March and is partnered with the following businesses, according to Holbak:
• Bootlegger
• Mugg and Bean
• Two Schoon branches
• Motherdough
• Two Pick n Pay branches
• Republique Café
These partnerships are aimed at reducing food waste and food insecurity, according to Holbak.
The loading page of the Refreshi app, aimed at providing surplus food at a discounted price. “In South Africa, you have [on the one hand] 15 to 20 million people who go hungry each day and a lot of food insecurity, and, on the other hand, you have ten million tons of food that’s wasted every year,” said Jacob Holbak, main founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Refreshi. “A lot of this food is fine to consume. It hasn’t expired yet, it just never found a home.” PHOTO: Iman Allie
Addressing food insecurity in Stellenbosch
“Our mission is to [bring] a new life to surplus food and provide more affordable meals,” said Holbak. “At the same time, we want to reduce the impact and the nature of just collecting food and leaving it at the landfill.”
The Stellenbosch public can use Refreshi as a way to get quality food at an affordable price, according to Holbak.
Holbak linked Stellenbosch’s recent student fee protests with food insecurity. He also said that if students can spend less money on food, they’ll have more money to allocate towards their student fees.
Schoon is one of Refreshi’s first business partners, according to Jakob Holbak, main founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Refreshi, who told SMF News that Refreshi’s business partners include coffee shops, restaurants, bakeries, and supermarkets in Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Iman Allie
How the app works
Refreshi’s six partners package their surplus food into a “surprise pack”, which Holbak defines as a parcel containing surplus food from the respective store partner a Refreshi user orders from.
Surplus food is food that is left over and is usually disposed of at the end of a business day, but is still fit for consumption, according to Holbak.
Republique Café, one of Refreshi’s partners, located on Andringa Street, Stellenbosch. Mandi Hart, co-owner of the café, said that some of the surplus goods they offer via Refreshi are croissants, chocolate croissants, pasta, and chocolate chip cookies. “The bag is labeled a baked goods bag,” she said. PHOTO: Iman Allie
A way to care for the environment
“One of our values is to do good locally, and to minimise waste, and to care for the environment as much as we can,” said Mandi Hart, co-owner of Republique Café. “Therefore, Refreshi has had a positive impact on our operations, […] and more people can enjoy our delightful, delicious products.”
Damien Daniels, a third-year BA (Humanities) student at Stellenbosch University (SU), said that he liked the fact that the app shows you how much carbon waste, water, and food you saved.
“I’ve heard of people – a lot of shops and branches – not dealing with food waste and really not being sufficient, in the sense of throwing out things,” said Daniels. “Where things are nearing the expiry date, they just toss it out.”
“It’s important that companies keep themselves as sustainable as possible,” said Luphelele Mafani, a BComHons student in management accounting at SU. “Refreshi is helping the food industry [in] that regard by reducing the amount of surplus food being wasted.”
Bootlegger, located on Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch, is one of Refreshi’s coffee shop partners, according to Jakob Holbak, main founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Refreshi. PHOTO: Iman Allie