A Nutritional Sciences student at Ariel University has developed an app to prevent food waste and “improve well-being,” the school announced Sunday.
Second-year student Daniela Saunyama, 24, immigrated to Israel from New Jersey and enlisted in the IDF’s Search and Rescue Brigade.
Saunyama presented the idea for an app to prevent food waste and improve well-being as part of a Nutrition and Technology course.
After being accepted into the Ariel University Entrepreneurship Center’s Accelerator, she continued with the idea; the venture is currently raising funds and developing the app.
SustainEat is the first app of its kind to offer consumers a fully personalized end-to-end solution with a focus on sustainability.
“I attended a Zionist Jewish high school and immigrated to Israel on my own when I was 18, where I served as a combat soldier and commander in the Search and Rescue Brigade,” Saunyama said. She added that she is fortunate her parents also recently immigrated to Israel as well.
“I have always been interested in health and nutrition and their impact on the world and the environment. Each of us can and should help protect the environment. By tracking our food purchases and the food we already have at home, we can reduce and prevent the food waste that is doing serious damage to our environment,” she said.
“I found that there is a need for this type of app in almost every household and family,” she said.
During the accelerator program, Saunyama met co-founder Avichai Shapiro, an economics and business administration student at Ariel University. The two learned from both the program and mentors to develop a business plan.
“We are now moving forward with the project and hope to develop an initial product soon,” she added.
The app, called SustainEat, can be used by anyone on their smartphone and provides a solution for managing food and preventing its waste.
The app combines food management with recipe suggestions tailored to the user’s preferences and the food that is approaching its expiration date.
Research shows that about a third of the food that is purchased by consumers is subsequently thrown away.
The venture aligns its vision with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of “responsible production and consumption” to participate in global efforts to reduce food waste.
