Supplier Perceptions Towards Providing Surplus Food to a Social Enterprise

Abstract

Social enterprises are organisations that adopt business models to achieve their social and/or environmental goals. The use of surplus food by a social enterprise may help support de-growth, lessen food insecurity, create community spaces, and/or be more environmentally friendly. In the case of acquiring surplus food, social enterprises may either receive donated surplus food from producers or manufacturers, or they can purchase the surplus food thereby creating a secondary market for food that would have otherwise gone to waste. The purpose of this project was to explore food producers' and manufacturers' perceptions on the provision of surplus food to a social enterprise, to provide a better understanding of the opportunities to grow this beneficial practice. The project consisted of a series of semi-structured interviews with food producers and manufacturers in the Otago region. These interviews were transcribed and then thematically analysed, to identify themes in the data.

The report found that the food suppliers interviewed, though they did not currently have systems in place, were open to the idea of providing surplus food to a social enterprise. In terms of opportunities, frequently mentioned were “capacity”, “public perception”, “community” and "attitude". In terms of barriers, frequently mentioned were “capacity”, "logistics", “cost/benefit”, “current use” and “communication”." These results will form the basis of recommendations on how social enterprises can more effectively source surplus food from the region.

Supervised by: Miranda Mirosa, Food Waste Innovation