ไทย Join
Food and markets

Small restaurants and bakeries bin good food because donating small amounts is a hassle

No builders or owners yet

Community groups and nonprofits October 16, 2026 at 11:06 PM

Thai PBS cites the Pollution Control Department: food waste is 64% of Thailand's waste and nearly 40% of it is still edible; Bangkok makes about 9,000 tons of waste daily, around half food. A UNEP piece puts restaurant food waste at 6-14% of food revenue. Scholars of Sustenance rescues food in Bangkok. A corner cafe with six pastries still bins them.

Vote for a challenge

Is this you?

If you run into this every week, tell us. Teams only build for challenges with someone waiting for the tool.

0ready to build

Members only. Apply to join.

Next build day

No date yet. Join and we'll tell you first.

Join

This is me

Only organizers see it

Privacy

5 ways to tackle it

  • Hardware and sensors

    Closing Button: one press at closing prints rescue bag stickers with a QR

    At 8 PM the cafe owner bags the six leftover pastries, presses one big button and the thermal printer prints a rescue sticker with a QR and a pickup window. Neighbors scan to claim, and the first one to claim sees a pickup code. Donating takes ten seconds, not a phone call.

    Build with Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, thermal printer, arcade button, Supabase claims page

  • Camera and vision

    Bin Cam: a camera over the bin that counts what gets thrown away

    A small camera above the bin takes a photo when the lid closes. Claude vision names the items and counts them by day, so the owner sees 'croissants 6, bread 11, rice 2 kg'. The shop finds out what it overbakes and bakes less.

    Build with ESP32-CAM, reed switch on lid, Claude vision, Google Sheets

  • Web portal

    Closing Time Price Page: a counter screen that cuts prices as the evening goes on

    A tablet at the counter shows the last items with a price that drops: 30% off at 7:30, 50% off at 8:30, free at 9. Walk-by customers get a deal, and the owner sells what would have been binned. The owner sets it up once with a few photos.

    Build with Next.js, tablet kiosk mode, price schedule, QR to reserve

  • AI agent

    Pickup Bundler: combines five cafes' leftovers into one 25-minute pickup run

    The agent takes the claim list from Closing Button and sorts it into one route a volunteer on a motorbike can finish in 25 minutes, ending at a community kitchen or shelter. It prints a stop sheet with what to expect at each door. Five tiny donations become one real delivery.

    Build with Claude, OpenStreetMap routing, Supabase, PDF stop sheet

  • Data and maps

    Bake Less Number: tells a bakery how many of each item to bake tomorrow

    At closing the owner says by voice '3 croissants, 5 loaves left'. The page combines that with the forecast and the weekday and shows tomorrow's bake count for each item. Less is thrown away before anyone has to donate it.

    Build with Whisper Thai, Claude extraction, weather API, Google Sheets, simple forecast model

What people reported

  • Thai PBS: 64% of waste, ~40% edible, Cloud Food Bank moved about 30,000 kg

    thaipbsworld.com

  • UNEP: food waste 6-14% of food revenue; SOS collected 404 tonnes in four months

    unep.org

  • SOS Thailand programs: food rescue, food bank, rescue kitchen

    scholarsofsustenance.org

More challenges in Food and markets

  • Food and marketsVote0

    Restaurants lose up to 80% of sales in a flood even when the building stays dry

    Bangkok restaurants reported sales down as much as 80% in late September 2026 because customers, staff, deliveries and riders could not get through. Rent, salaries and utilities continue; the Restaurant Operators Club chair said smaller venues face a liquidity crisis after about two weeks. Owners are cutting hours to noon-6 PM and trimming perishable orders by guesswork.

    No builders or owners yet5 ways to tackle it
  • Food and marketsVote0

    Street food vendors absorb rising ingredient costs because they can't safely raise prices

    The Bangkok Vendors Association said in March 2026 that holy basil went from 35-40 to 50-55 baht per kg and limes from 3 to 4.50-5 baht each; vendors usually raise a dish by 5 baht and many delay to keep regulars. A Moo Baan Nak Kila market report says a basket went from 4,000 to 7,000 baht since January. A vendor told WIEGO: 'If I raise prices, customers won't make purchases.'

    No builders or owners yet5 ways to tackle it
  • Food and marketsVote0

    Small restaurants lose money on delivery apps and can't tell what price to list

    LINE MAN keeps about 30% of each order plus 7% VAT on that cut, so a 100 baht dish listed at 100 pays the shop 67.9 baht. A Pantip post says listing at the in-store price x 1.48 breaks even. One smoothie seller reported 45 baht taken from a 150 baht order and felt they were losing money. Owners are working out the markup themselves in forum posts.

    No builders or owners yet5 ways to tackle it

Bring a challenge

If this is your organization's challenge, the winning team may build it for you.