About Us
Turn food waste into your NextPlate.
Just two programmers who decided to build something to preserve our planet.
Our Story
NextPlate was built on serendipity.
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What do you do when you haven't seen a friend for many years and accidentally stumble upon each other? You start a company together, duh!
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10 years after moving away for college, Andrew bumped into Garwing while Garwing was out for a run in their hometown. The founders decided to reunite over lunch, which would eventually spark the partnership to bring NextPlate to life.
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As programmers, both co-founders shared an interest in building a startup that would give back to the world. So, they set out on their journey.
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Before the idea of NextPlate, they came up with a platform called AfterFarms. The initial concept was to rescue ugly produce from farms and sell them as mystery bags to customers; however, the logistics of neighborhood delivery or having customers drive long distances to farm locations was not promising.
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After a series of challenges with AfterFarms, the co-founders discovered another way to help reduce food waste, through restaurants. The co-founders discovered that food services including restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, and cafes often throw away good food that doesn't sell through.
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In fact, any forgotten orders, kitchen mistakes, or surplus food at the end of the day all get thrown away!
While food waste is one of the top contributors to global warming, 1 in 5 individuals in Los Angeles are facing food insecurity.
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With NextPlate, we can help bridge this gap.
