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Marketplace - Frequently Asked Questions
Using the FoodMesh Marketplace
FoodMesh is a B2B, self-serve platform that connects food processors, manufacturers and distributors with charities, non-profits and any business in the food industry.
Our online marketplace helps your business make use of food that would otherwise go to waste, helping you to save money, feed more, and waste less!
- Post listings of your surplus food – Suppliers add details and photos of the products they are offering to sell or donate.
- Notify Consumers – Suppliers can select the Consumers they want to allow access to view and receive notifications of their listings, or choose every business in the network.
- Exchange – Consumers sign into their FoodMesh account and purchase the products, and non-profits or charities claim donations.
- Success – Consumers pick up or have the products delivered, and food is diverted from the waste stream!
Most of the businesses on FoodMesh are in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, with some in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
If you are a food business or nonprofit in any area of Canada, sign up here.
We are expanding!
Nature doesn’t have waste, so why do we?
Throwing away food makes no sense! And in some places, it is now illegal. FoodMesh helps businesses find more optimal uses for surplus food with the click of a button.
Use FoodMesh to keep food out of the landfill, fight food insecurity, and benefit your business in the following ways:
- Save time – eliminate excessive back and forth with an automatic system.
- Recover Costs – our service fee is less than your disposal fees.
- Build New Relationships – Access new relationships at the click of a mouse.
- Track – where your food goes/comes from.
- Collect – data.
- Access -more donations with less work
- Control- what food you receive and when
- Track- where your donations come from
- Simplify- the process of looking for donations with one stop
Not exactly. To ensure our community is full of integral organizations, we vet everyone who registers before we verify them to use FoodMesh.
We encourage food suppliers, distributors, processors, retailers, grocers, restaurants, caterers, non-profits, social enterprises and charities in good standing to apply.
Your organization can sign up for a basic FoodMesh marketplace account at no cost. When you sell your surplus through FoodMesh, there is a nominal service fee that is deducted and we mail you a check. Donations do not incur a service charge.
We also offer diversion programs for the Retail, Corporate and Government sectors as well, depending on your needs.
See our Retail Food Recovery page for an example, and please email us at engage@foodmesh.ca to discuss your needs and options.
We won’t share your data, such as your contact and existing donors lists, with anyone. We also do not store any credit card data and are therefore PCI compliant. Our credit card service provider is Stripe.
In terms of liability, there is a legislation called the Food Donor Encouragement Act that protects food donors from liability for damages caused by donations of apparently wholesome food that they donate in good faith. You can learn more about it here:
Suppliers
Access to FoodMesh is free for both Consumers and Suppliers
SUPPLIERS – donations are free to post. Sales come with a nominal service fee of 15% so please take that into account when you’re pricing your products.
The expectation with FoodMesh is that Sellers offer products for 50% or more below cost. FoodMesh is an alternative to paying to dispose of, or compost surplus products.
Ready to recover costs and expand your connections? Get started here!
Once you’ve registered, we will help you with posting your first listing if you prefer, and walk you through how to use our platform.
We take care of the payment process so you don’t have to, and we’ll issue your business with a check after your product leaves your warehouse, minus the 15% service fee (which includes GST). For any donations you list, we do not charge a fee.
If you prefer, you may fill in this form so we can get your first listing posted.
In the future, we will introduce paid membership subscription packages where you can access enhanced features.
Buyers – FoodMesh is free to use. To purchase products use your credit card, and your receipt is emailed to you. We use Stripe as our payment processor and don’t store your credit card details, unless you want Stripe to.
When creating a listing, you can choose whether it is pick-up only or if you want to offer delivery options.
The Consumer chooses the option on check-out, and will then arrange the pick-up or delivery details with you by sending a message through FoodMesh.
Please Note: Arranging FoodMesh orders or transactions outside the FoodMesh order system is considered fee avoidance, and may result in the suspension or termination of your account and subject you to other collection mechanisms.
Buyers, Charities and Nonprofits
It’s free to register and only takes a minute, HERE. Once you’ve clicked on the return email to verify it, you will have access to the FoodMesh site within 24 hours (but if you register on a Friday, it may take until Monday for your verification to go through).
You can then log on and browse what’s available to buy, and registered charities or non-profits can browse listings to buy or claim donations.
Please Note: Arranging FoodMesh orders or transactions outside the FoodMesh order system is considered fee avoidance, and may result in the suspension or termination of your account and subject you to other collection mechanisms.
Payment is made using a credit card, just like any other online shopping site. We do not save your credit card details, and you receive a receipt from Stripe (our payment provider).
Your card is not charged until the Supplier ‘accepts’ your order.
There are minimum orders placed by each Supplier, and some offer O.BO. on quantity and price – so you can put in an offer!
Suppliers choose the type of delivery they want to offer, and pick up is the default option. If there are no options that suit you, you can message the Supplier directly to ask for options.
