‘A lack of labor interest and potential legal and political factors limit the potential of turning to a “gig economy” to decreasing food waste from produce farms, but an environmental group is optimistic that model’s time will come.
A new World Wildlife Fund report, the third in a series called “No Food Left Behind,” looks at post-harvest loss and considers options for recovering surplus produce and decreasing loss.
The 19-page report, “Second Helping: Can the Gig Economy Rescue Surplus Food from Farms?” said produce left on farms could be used to satisfy demand from U.S. food banks if “the right business case” can be made.
Growers interviewed for the study said food loss causes include market conditions, cosmetic standards for produce and scarce/expensive farm labor.
In the study, researchers developed concepts to optimize the value of surplus food for growers and increase the volume of produce delivered to consumers.
In one example, the study examined the potential of value-added processing to reduce food waste. Looking at Eastern U.S. peach culls specifically, researchers said value-added processing is cost prohibitive and not feasible.
Gig labor
Isolating the problem of finding labor, the report considered how the “gig” economy model might work to help growers find labor and reduce food waste. The gig economy is loosely defined as when workers have short-term contracts opposed to permanent jobs.
“The prototype showed there may be an untapped domestic workforce willing to harvest food, given the right conditions,” the report said.
Researchers developed a prototype platform, called Second Helping, that uses technology to link farmers to gleaners and food banks and to part-time labor when needed.
WWF tested the concept of Second Helping on a fresh tomato farm in California’s Central Valley to see if there is interest in harvesting produce as a temporary job for the general public, according to the study. Researchers recruited potential farm workers locally.
The digital recruitment platform, active for six weeks, had 806 visitors. Of that group, 115 people visited the application, and 54 applied, according to the report. Of the 54 applicants, WWF extended an invitation to 38 applicants. In the end, 21 invitees accepted, but three of those declined at the last minute.
Of the 18 confirmed, six attended in person to participate. Of those who accepted but didn’t show up, or who did not accept the offer, the report said over half said that the farm was too far away and that they couldn’t justify the cost of gas.
“WWF learned that there is a small, potentially untapped labor pool that could harvest seconds in the central valley of California,” according to the study. “However, through the pilot day and additional interviews with labor organizations, we also found that there are many legal and political challenges that would need to be overcome for this model to be successful, not to mention the systemic challenges that exist with farm labor more broadly.”
Obvious challenges, the authors said, include the risks of high attrition rates (72% for the prototype), workforce skill deficiency, liability concerns from the grower community, and labor rights.
“Since highly trained contract laborers are often covered by a third-party contractor, which removes the burden from the farmer, a similar model would need to be in place for farm owners to be comfortable using untrained, occasional laborers,” the report said.
Still, the WWF said the rising importance of the “gig” part-time worker in the broader economy suggests a rising importance for agriculture, too.
“As the gig economy continues to expand — predictions show upwards of 30% growth between 2020 and 2028 — it will be important for employers, legislators, and regulators to work collaboratively to manage how it can play a valuable role in the overall workforce.”
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