“We’re proud to be taking a lead role in finding an innovative way to get the public involved in reducing food waste,” said Rizal Hamdallah, head of Tyson Innovation Lab, a special product development acceleration team at Tyson Foods. “Flashfood was a perfect fit and together we developed the flashfoodbox concept and readied it for testing within three months.”
Each flashfoodbox, priced at $44.99, contains around 15 lbs. of surplus food including protein, fruits and vegetables.
“Each box has 5 lbs. of protein including meat, and nearly 10 lbs. of produce. That’s enough to prepare about 14 meals at less than $4 per serving,” said Josh Domingues, founder and CEO of Flashfood.
“People need protein to be healthy and satisfied, and Tyson Innovation Lab is able to contribute delicious surplus meat products to the food boxes, making them more balanced than produce-only food boxes,” Hamdallah said. “We also bring a great deal of experience with food supply chain management to the project. The Innovation Lab at Tyson Foods, an industry leader, can fight food waste at a large scale.
“People who buy the flashfoodbox are living the movement to reduce food waste,” Hamdallah added. “They can join our mission in two ways: by enjoying the flashfoodbox or by purchasing one to donate to others.”
The boxes can be ordered online atflashfoodbox.comor through the Flashfood app. The boxes are delivered directly to customers’ homes. Subscriptions are available for weekly, biweekly or monthly deliveries (subscribers will receive a 10 percent discount).
Since flashfood boxes use surplus food — food that would have otherwise been wasted — the products are sold to consumers at a lower price point than they would receive from a retailer.
The decision to launch the new program in Detroit was made because of the city’s recent commitment to revitalization. “Detroit has historically been a city that many have viewed as having a lack of opportunity,” Domingues said. “But over the last few years, there’s been a vibrant resurgence and we want to be part of that fabric as we scale the flashfoodbox into the US.”
Detroit’s Forgotten Harvest, a nonprofit organization, will distribute donated flashfoodbox boxes to local families.
Nearly one-third of all food produced in America ends up as waste, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Domingues said.
