On Cloud 9

FoodCloud is an Irish social enterprise that connects businesses with surplus food to charities founded by Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien. The company have two solutions to reducing food waste. The first uses technology to redistribute surplus food directly from retail stores to community groups that need it. The second is the company’s warehousing solution that works closely with the food industry in Ireland to redistribute larger quantities from the three hubs in Cork, Galway and Dublin. ‘Our combined activities reduce food waste, increase social inclusion and through these activities we hope to inspire communities to take local actions that can create global change’ says Iseult. The girls formed the idea and company when they were only college students at Trinity University, Dublin. ‘I was studying Business and Economics in Trinity and went to an event where I met co-founder, Aoibheann O’Brien’ says Iseult. ‘We got to talking about how much food is wasted and how little there was to combat that in Ireland because at the time there was only one tiny, registered food bank in Ireland and internationally, in the U.K. and Europe. What made us take the first step was our combined determination to do something about the enormous amount of perfectly good food that is wasted in Ireland every year. We arranged for the surplus food from a farmers' market to be redistributed to a local charity. So, what started as a college project with a team from Trinity transformed into the FoodCloud we have today, and it has resulted in a hugely successful social enterprise network, which stretches across Ireland, the UK and internationally.’

The duo had massive success to date and redistributed approx 75 million meals in Ireland, the UK and internationally. ‘This is a number we’re incredibly proud of’ says Iseult. ‘Our online platform and our warehouse solution mean we are in a position to see that number continue to increase because we can offer an end-to-end solution for surplus from the food industry and food retail. We can’t do what we do alone. It is down to the kindness and generosity of our food donors, funders, supporters and volunteers that FoodCloud can continue to deliver greater impact.’ Iseult gives high praise to Social Entrepreneurs Ireland as she was an alumni to now board member. ‘It is a huge privilege to be asked to sit on the board of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.  What many people will not know is that FoodCloud was not successful the first time it went for the SEI award! That was in itself an important learning in FoodCloud's story. Having the experience of being a successful alumni and having been part of such a strong community of SEI alumni has given me great insights into how we can better support the courageous new entrepreneurs who take the brave step to tackle some of Ireland's most pressing social issues. And right now, SEI is looking to support the next generation of social entrepreneurs through their support programmes so I’d encourage all your readers who have ever had a niggling idea to solve a social problem to share it and apply to SEI. It doesn’t have to be perfect. SEI will help to further develop it.’ 

Iseult shared some words of wisdom for those hoping to start their own social enterprise. ‘Running a social enterprise is no different than running any other business- it comes with its challenges. I would say one of the particular challenges is that social entrepreneurship is not a concept that's widely understood. It’s important to get the messaging around what social enterprises are, how they operate, and helping people understand that they do operate in almost the exact same way as a business, but with different measures of success, with more of a social focus than a financial focus.’ There is no stopping the duo as they have plenty plans for 2020. ‘One of the most exciting things happening for FoodCloud in the first half of 2020 is that we are featuring in a docuseries produced for RTÉ One in association with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland. Changing Ireland: My Big Idea shares the stories of eight social entrepreneurs from the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland community including FoodCloud’ says Iseult. ‘Our long-term aim is for Ireland to become a global leader in developing solutions for surplus food redistribution from an ever-growing network of sources, so our goal for 2020 is to continue working towards that by redistributing surplus food. We’re committed to helping Ireland achieve Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which is to halve per capital global food waste by 2030.’  Lastly, I asked Iseult to tell readers her life motto to which she said, ‘Don’t be afraid to fail and try again’.

For more information on Food Cloud check out their website - https://food.cloud/