We often over-order food, driven by the thought, “What if there isn’t enough?” But have you ever paused to think about what happens to the food you can’t finish, or where restaurant waste ends up? This overlooked problem is at the heart of a global challenge, and India is no exception, with millions of tonnes of food wasted annually.

To address this, ‘Good to Grab’, a Hyderabad-based startup, is turning surplus food into an opportunity for both businesses and consumers. Through their innovative app, co-founders Srikanth Reddy Anugu and Sai Kishore claim to have saved over approximately five metric tonnes of food from ending up in landfills.

According to Srikanth, food waste is the second largest contributor to waste from an environmental perspective. “When surplus food ends up in landfills, it emits methane, a gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. This contributes to climate change and pollutes the environment for years,” he explains.

Restaurants, too, often discard unsold food due to a lack of proper storage facilities or customers at odd hours, adding to the ever-growing pile of food waste. This harsh reality led Srikanth and Sai to ponder: “Could surplus food be rescued before it became waste?” And the answer led to the idea of ‘Good to Grab’.

Addressing the food waste problem

Srikanth’s family operated a restaurant in Hyderabad. Despite organising donations and charity drives, they faced challenges like unpredictable surplus quantities, logistical hurdles, and high transportation costs; a significant portion of surplus food ended up in dustbins.

“We were helpless,” Srikanth recalls. “When there were only two or three packets of surplus, organising a food drive wasn’t feasible. It became........

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