Foodsharing is an online service that enables the exchange of foodstuffs between people. This means of redistribution helps reduce food waste. In Russia, it saves about 7,000 tons of food per year. As this segment develops, it will become possible to save up to a million tons of food per year in Russia, and thus:

• Feed about 1.3 million citizens in need
• Prevent the emission of 143,000 tons of methane
• Create a new market managing an annual food volume worth 85 billion rubles.

Every year, at least 20% of produced food—about 884 million tons—goes to landfills. This is about 44% of total household waste.

In Russia, the food content of municipal solid waste totals 17 million tons a year. Most of it—about 94%—goes to landfills where it is mixed with other types of waste and rots, poisoning soil, water, and air. Decomposing food waste harms the environment by emitting millions of tons of methane, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide.

At such a scale, food waste not only causes serious environmental damage but also creates major economic losses. It costs the Russian economy 1.6 trillion a year, a loss that could be minimized if foodsharing were developing dynamically. Moreover, that amount of food would be enough to feed 30 million people—more than the estimated number of those living below the poverty line in Russia.

Foodsharing can be a solution to both environmental and socio-economic problems confronting the food market. Any user of the service will be able to sell or give away a meal or a grocery item to those in need. The transfer of food can be arranged either on a charitable basis or for a fee negotiated by users.

The niche of foodsharing is to save food whose expiration date is approaching. That is why time is a key factor. Sometimes, only a few days remain before an absolutely normal and healthy foodstuff will turn into waste and lose its entire value. Therefore, mobility, geolocation, and online communication features are of primary importance to a foodsharing platform.

The development of foodsharing in Russia will bring invaluable benefits to society:

• shared foods will help the underprivileged;
• natural and labor resources will be used in a more rational fashion;
• food waste will be reduced substantially, thus mitigating climate change and pollution.

Undoubtedly, such a movement will help solve many problems. You should not think that foodsharing is supporting the "poor" with spoiled food. There are many reasons for participation, among them:

• people going on vacation tend to unload their fridges as much as possible;
• in hotels and restaurants, a lot of untouched food remains that must be disposed of;
• a household overestimates its needs and purchases more food than can be safely consumed before it spoils;
• stores frequently have products that lose packaging integrity while remaining perfectly safe and tasty;
• yesterday's pastry is not quite as tasty but remains safe and nutritious;
  
• many canteens have regulations that require disposing of all unsold food every evening.