Food waste is a serious problem in today’s society. Functional food waste is sent to waste treatment while people are suffering from food insecurity. Food redistribution in the form of a central food bank—which collects surplus food from companies and delivers it to social organizations—is one way to address this issue. Stockholm City Mission plans to start a central food bank in Stockholm, and it is this implementation that is the focus of this report. The purpose of this study is to compare two scenarios, with and without a food bank, and evaluate the initiative in terms of reduced climate impacts and the economic outcomes for the involved actors (food companies, the central food bank, and social organizations).
The methods used include literature studies, interviews, and a material flow analysis to track food through the redistribution system. The results show that costs can be saved for the actors involved, though whether the food bank operates at a profit depends on the revenues collected from participating actors and external investors. Climate impacts are reduced as a result of the implementation, primarily because functional food waste is diverted from waste treatment and put to use.