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In a quiet corner of Paris, Eva starts to wrap up her day selling bread and pastries. For years, the unsold ones would have gone stale overnight and ended up in the bin, a routine that she found both costly and dispiriting. Now, things are different.

HopHopFood is one of many food waste apps turning surplus into savings. With a few taps, excess food from retailers, restaurants and households that would have otherwise gone to landfill is diverted towards people who need it.

What happens in a bakery in Paris has global relevance. Every year, an area of farmland larger than China is used to grow food that never gets eaten.

In an era of climate volatility, rising prices and population pressures, it is not just a matter of redistributing food, but of redesigning the system to minimise waste.

France, a nation famed for its food culture, has also produced mountains of waste. In 2016, it became the first country to ban larger supermarkets from throwing away edible food. The ban was reinforced by France’s 2020 Anti-Waste Law, a landmark step to move from a linear “produce-consume-throw away” economy to a circular one.

Regulation is helping to turn bin fodder into social good, diverting surplus to food banks, community fridges and consumers through apps. Redistributing unsold food is not only good for the planet, it can make groceries more affordable for those who need to get by with less.

Technology is turning a regulatory nudge into a system that pays back. Digital tools and platforms are proving to be among the fastest, most scalable ways to turn surplus into sustenance. Some retailers rely on dynamic pricing software to cut food waste and boost grocery profits. Powered by AI, the software automatically lowers prices for perishables nearing their expiration dates, encouraging shoppers to buy sooner with smaller markdowns. Others tackle inefficiencies further upstream, rescuing food before it spoils or converting what is inedible into energy.

Food redistribution apps, connecting unsold produce with households in need, are another piece of the jigsaw. The food waste management apps market is projected to grow nearly fivefold by 2034, to US$5.7bn, from US$1.2bn in 2024.

Juggling rent, tuition and daily expenses, student Clara lives on a tight budget. Food waste apps enable her to save money while keeping good food in circulation.

For Clara, the fix is simple. But the impact is substantial. What's rescued from Eva's bakery shelf forms part of a more affordable meal. “We are happy to know that there is no waste that is left at the end of the day.”

The implications reach far beyond one shop in Paris. Across cities and continents, digital platforms are stitching supply chains back together. What was linear becomes circular.

Food is just the start. The peer-to-peer model transforming how we redistribute meals is beginning to reshape energy, too. Just as apps connect surplus food with hungry households, new platforms link rooftop solar producers with neighbours who need power. A citizen-led system is emerging, challenging the top-down utility model and putting control into the hands of communities.