Waste Nothing
Good food to neighbours, not bins — started by twelve neighbours in De Pijp.
Sponsor: Erin Smith (you)
Proposed by: Daan V.
NAVi health score
GlobalCircle
GC: Sustainability Climate & FoodCircle
TC: Food Systems & Circular EconomyGovernance
Next checkpoint: 15 Sep 2032
Last: Approved with 94% support
1,240
Households reached
18.4 t
Food rescued
62
Volunteers
86%
Milestones on time

NAVi · insight
Route 4 volunteer gaps recur on Thursdays — want me to draft an Opportunities post?
Lean Social Canvas
The Project's planning structure — animated by the DARE rhythm (Discover, Aspire, Refine, Empower).
Why (Opportunity)
A third of the food produced globally is wasted while neighbours go without. Amsterdam discards roughly 14,000 tonnes of edible food a year from cafés, markets and retailers — and in De Pijp about one household in ten faces food insecurity. Existing redistribution is fragmented and uncoordinated, so good food spoils before it reaches anyone.
What (Solution)
A hyperlocal rescue network connecting cafés, market stalls, community fridges and school drop-points, coordinated on the HUB with real-time inventory and pickup routing. The test: redistribute 5 tonnes a month across three neighbourhoods at under 50 volunteer-hours per tonne. Differentiator: NAVi demand prediction and routing, plugged into existing community meal programmes.
How (Plan)
Partner with 12 food businesses and 4 community kitchens in De Pijp. Run weekly pickup routes and monthly Ladders of Feedback with partners and beneficiaries; ICV Igniter (€12,500, charitable) covers crates, cold-chain kit and fridge upkeep. Scale citywide if partner satisfaction holds above 80% and 100+ households are served weekly.
Stakeholders
Beneficiaries
Low-income households, community meal programmes, food-insecure families in De Pijp and Oost.
Partners
Donating cafés, the Wednesday market, fridge hosts, LC NL Amsterdam/De Pijp volunteers.
Funders
ICV Igniter (charitable), 61 member backers on the UP rails, Gemeente Amsterdam sustainability grant.
Key performance indicators
Households served
Impact
87/ 100 households/wk
87% of target
Food rescued
Impact
4.2/ 5 t/month
84% of target
Partner satisfaction
Impact
92/ 80 %
Target met
Volunteer hours/tonne
Delivery
38/ 50 hrs
Target met
Review cadence
Weekly team sync · monthly stakeholder review · quarterly governance checkpoint
Assumptions & tests
DARECafés and stalls will donate consistently
ValidatedExperiment: Partner interviews + 4-week trial with 12 businesses
Metric: Average tonnes donated per business per month
Result: 0.45 t/business
Owner: Erin Smith
Timeline: Oct–Nov 2031
Volunteers can run routes at <50 hrs/tonne
TestingExperiment: Track volunteer hours across the first three months
Metric: Volunteer hours per tonne rescued
Result: 38 hrs/t (preliminary)
Owner: Operations team
Timeline: Jan–Mar 2032
HUB coordination adopted by 80%+ of partners
TestingExperiment: Onboarding tracking + partner feedback sessions
Metric: Active partners / total partners
Result: 75% (9 of 12)
Owner: Daan V.
Timeline: Jun–Jul 2032
Households will use rescued food regularly
NextExperiment: Survey + pickup tracking for 50 households
Metric: Households with ≥2 pickups a month
Result: Starts 15 Aug
Owner: Joris V.
Timeline: Aug–Sep 2032
NAVi insights

Guidance for this Project, from across the domain.
Volunteer capacity alert
Saturday coverage on Route 4 is one slot short through August. BC Corporate Volunteers has ACE-trained coordinators nearby.
Suggested mentor match
Sofia L. (LC Rotterdam) scaled a rescue network threefold — available for monthly calls. MentorMatch intake opens Monday.
Relevant course
UP Academe · Sponsor curriculum: “Volunteer programme management” — a two-hour module, self-paced.
Amplifier eligibility
Hold 100 households a week into the autumn and the Project qualifies for ICV Amplifier funding (€50–150K) for citywide scale.
Related Projects
Second Helpings
92% matchTC: Urban Food Rescue
Shared routes and volunteer pool
School Food Audit
86% matchLC: De Pijp · GC: SC&F
M4 drop-points run on its kitchen toolkit
Project health
Team
12 members
Files