Table of Contents
Introduction: Tackling Food Waste Through Redistribution
In recent years, food waste has emerged as a pressing global issue, capturing the attention of researchers, policymakers, and socially conscious citizens. The ethical concerns and environmental damage caused by wasted food are impossible to ignore. Globally, food waste contributes to nearly half of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by the food system—an alarming reality that underscores the need for urgent action.
As per UNFCC report image showcased below Food loss and waste account for 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions; cost USD 1 trillion annually
Screenshot credit: UNFCC to read more click here
One of the most effective ways to address this issue is through food recovery—ensuring that surplus, edible food is redirected to people who need it instead of ending up in landfills. This is where food redistribution becomes critical. By building strong links between food producers and those in need, redistribution reduces waste and strengthens food security.
What Is Food Redistribution?
Food redistribution is the process of diverting surplus food—perfectly edible but not sellable for various reasons—to individuals or organisations that can consume or use it. This prevents food from becoming waste and ensures it finds value elsewhere.
This process involves two key groups:
- Food generators: like restaurants, hotels, manufacturers, retailers, and households
- Food receivers: like community kitchens, shelters, food banks, and NGOs
Organisations like Reshine Organisation serve as vital connectors, matching surplus supply with local demand, ensuring that excess food reaches the right hands efficiently, safely, and ethically.
Sources of Surplus Food
Surplus food can originate from a variety of points in the food chain:
- Items nearing their best-before or use-by dates
- Slow-moving or overstocked inventory
- Mislabelled or damaged packaging
- Products that don’t meet customer-specific standards
Redistributed food includes a wide range of categories such as fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat, packaged items, beverages, and frozen foods.
However, redistribution is usually supply-driven—meaning receivers often don’t know in advance what food they’ll receive or in what quantity. This unpredictability requires highly responsive and flexible systems on the receiving end to make the best use of available food without waste.
Why Food Redistribution Matters
Food redistribution isn’t just a sustainable practice—it’s a multi-dimensional solution that creates environmental, social, and economic benefits.
Environmental Impact: A Major Climate Action Tool
Cutting down food waste is one of the most effective strategies to reduce climate change. Halving food waste globally could eliminate around 25% of total food system emissions. The emissions from food wastage globally are nearly as high as those from all road transportation combined.
In fact, reducing food waste has more potential to cut emissions than electric vehicles, recycling, and afforestation—combined.
Organisations like Reshine Organisation are helping address this challenge head-on by:
- Redirecting surplus food away from landfills
- Preventing methane emissions from decomposing food waste
- Helping donors calculate their carbon savings, making environmental responsibility measurable and reportable
Social Impact: Feeding Communities in Need
In India, millions go hungry every day—even as surplus food is discarded at massive scale. Food redistribution plays a crucial role in bridging this gap, ensuring that nutritious meals reach those who need them most.
For example, Reshine Organisation redistributes food equivalent to over 13 lakh meals per month to vulnerable communities across the country. This is especially significant at a time when rising food prices and inflation continue to put pressure on household budgets, and many low-income families struggle to meet daily nutrition needs.
Redistribution ensures that surplus meets scarcity, reducing hunger and promoting health and dignity in communities across India.
Economic Benefits: Saving Money and Creating Value
Throwing away food doesn’t just harm the environment—it’s also expensive. Businesses incur hidden costs when food is wasted, including:
- Cost of purchase and inventory
- Wastage-related labour, storage, energy, and water
- Waste disposal and compliance costs
According to global estimates (adjusted for India), the true cost of food waste is roughly:
- ₹3,00,000 per tonne for restaurants and food service providers
- ₹1,25,000 per tonne for retailers
- ₹90,000 per tonne for food manufacturers
By choosing redistribution over disposal, companies can save significantly on these costs. Moreover, Reshine Organisation reports that for every ₹1 invested, they create approximately ₹370 in positive impact—a remarkable return that benefits both communities and the economy.
Boosting Business Through ESG Leadership
Partnering with redistribution organisations like Reshine also helps businesses enhance their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) profile—an increasingly important factor in public perception, investor decisions, and government partnerships.
Benefits of a strong ESG approach include:
- Better chances in public procurement
- Attracting impact-driven investors
- Lower insurance premiums
- Higher employee engagement and retention, particularly among socially aware youth
By reporting actual figures on food saved and emissions reduced, businesses can avoid greenwashing and showcase credible impact.
Building Relationships and Best Practices
Food redistribution is built on partnerships between food donors and receiving organisations. These relationships can be:
- Ongoing – with regular contributions
- Sporadic – based on surplus availability
- New – initiated by networking or referrals
- Imbalanced – when one party cannot manage supply or demand
To make these partnerships effective, businesses are encouraged to:
- Assign a dedicated team member to oversee food redistribution
- Set up formal systems for handling, storing, and transporting surplus
- Educate staff and customers about the environmental and social impact of their efforts
By streamlining internal processes, companies can engage more meaningfully and consistently with redistribution initiatives.
The Role of Reshine Organisation
Reshine Organisation is a leading force in India’s food redistribution movement. With a mission to eliminate hunger and reduce food waste, Reshine rescues surplus food from manufacturers, restaurants, and retailers—and delivers it to those who need it most.
To know more about how Reshine organisation works read a dedicated post on it How Reshine Organisation Collects and Distributes Surplus Food
Reshine plays a key role by:
- Connecting donors with receivers
- Ensuring safe storage and transport of perishable goods
- Providing partners with detailed reporting on carbon reduction and food impact
- Making it easy for businesses to align with ESG goals while driving meaningful social change
Their scalable model and nationwide reach allow them to operate across cities, ensuring that surplus food never goes to waste.
Conclusion: Why Food Redistribution Matters for India
In a country where food security and sustainability are deeply interconnected, food redistribution is both urgent and impactful. By keeping edible food out of the waste stream and putting it in the hands of those who need it, this system delivers:
- Environmental benefits by cutting greenhouse gas emissions
- Social support by feeding the food-insecure
- Economic savings by reducing waste-related business costs
While redistribution depends on supply and adaptability, the role of organisations like Reshine Organisation is essential. They provide the infrastructure, logistics, and accountability needed to scale food recovery in a meaningful way.
As India continues to grapple with food inflation, climate change, and urban hunger, food redistribution offers a clear path forward—one that is efficient, ethical, and economically wise.
Make a Difference – Donate Today
Every meal saved is a life uplifted.
Millions of tonnes of food go to waste every year while countless families in India go hungry. At Reshine Organisation, we bridge this gap—rescuing surplus food and delivering it to those who need it most.
Your support helps us:
- Feed vulnerable communities across India
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Empower a sustainable, waste-free future
Just ₹100 can help deliver 10 nutritious meals.
Donate Now and become a part of a movement that nourishes lives and protects the planet.
