Our story to cook more and reduce food waste
what is an app for food waste?
An app for food waste helps you waste less by helping you plan better. It’s not about guilt - it’s about giving you the tools to actually use what’s in your fridge, cook meals that make sense, and stop buying groceries you forget about two days later.
OH, a potato! is one of those apps. But it didn’t start that way.
We built it because we were stuck in a loop:
Hungry grocery shopping → Buying too much → Forgetting half of it → Finding a soggy bag of spinach and a single moldy blueberry by Thursday.
Sound familiar?
We cared about food waste. We tried to plan ahead. But nothing worked long term. The apps we found were either:
Focused on weight loss
Clunky spreadsheets in disguise
Too prescriptive (who actually wants five days of chicken breast and broccoli?)
Too rigid, not allowing us to save our own recipes as well
So we made something that felt like real life: messy, shared, and surprisingly hopeful.
how does an app for food waste actually help?
Turns out, household food waste is a planning problem, not a caring problem. Most people want to waste less - they just don’t have the right systems to make it happen.
According to the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024, households are responsible for 60% of all food waste globally, with the average home tossing 79 kg of food per person per year.
And yet, one thing makes a measurable difference: meal planning.
“The most effective way to reduce food waste at home is to plan meals around what you already have. Apps that support this habit can be a game changer.”
- Dana Gunders, Executive Director, ReFED
We didn’t just want to build an app that helped us feel better. We wanted one that worked:
Finds recipes using what’s already in our fridge or pantry
Imports recipes from anywhere - screenshots, reels, cookbooks
Lets us meal plan together
Has an integrated grocery list (so we don’t need to use another app for grocery shopping)
And actually looks... cute
how does OH, a potato! compare to other apps?
Here’s how we stack up against other popular options. This comparison focuses on value and features, not pricing:
Feature
Cook-from-what-you have
Shared household planning
Recipe import from screenshots/reels
Grocery list integration
Beautiful, modern design
Focus on reducing food waste
Streaks/tamagotchi mechanism
OH, a potato!
Mealime
Plan to Eat
(manual)
Paprika
(manual)
Cookpad
Bottom line: If you're trying to eat better and waste less without turning into a spreadsheet or fighting with your roommate, Potato gets it.
where does food waste actually come from?
Most food doesn’t go bad in the supply chain - it goes bad in your fridge.
According to WRAP UK, 70% of the UK’s post-farm food waste comes from households. And globally, it’s not that different.
Here’s the surprising part: most people don’t realize how much they’re wasting. According to ReFED, U.S. households waste about $1,866 per year in food per family.
That’s a lot of moldy blueberries.
why is household food waste such a big problem?
Household food waste isn’t just sad blueberries and forgotten lettuce. It’s a massive environmental issue hiding in plain sight.
When food gets thrown out, all the resources used to grow, ship, store, and cook that food are wasted too. That includes:
Water: 24% of all freshwater used in agriculture is lost through food waste (FAO, 2023)
Land: If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the U.S. (UNEP, 2024)
Money: The average household tosses over $1,800 worth of food annually (ReFED, 2024)
And here's the kicker: most of it is avoidable.
Food doesn’t rot in landfills because we don’t care - it’s because we forget what we bought, don’t plan how to use it, or buy in bulk without a plan. It’s not a moral failing. It’s just logistics.
“Tackling food waste at home is one of the simplest, most impactful ways individuals can reduce their environmental footprint—often with immediate results.”
— Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland
The good news? You don’t need to overhaul your life to make a difference. Planning just a few meals ahead using what you already have can cut your waste significantly.
And yes - that includes turning a half-used onion, three wrinkly tomatoes, and a dream into dinner. Need a place to start? Check out our quick dinner ideas made from what’s already in your fridge.
what makes OH, a potato! different?
We designed OH, a potato! with two things in mind:
Real ingredients - not just perfect produce or pre-set plans
Real households - people who share a kitchen and want fewer passive-aggressive “What’s for dinner?” texts
We didn’t want to feel like we were doing extra work to be sustainable. We just wanted less food guilt and fewer chaotic evenings.
Want help building a system that works? Start here with our ideas for meal planning.
why the name OH, a potato!?
We were actively thinking about how to name our app.
Then came the sprouted potato, a literal sign from the food waste gods. A forgotten, sprouting potato at the back of our fridge. It reminded us that every forgotten ingredient could be something amazing... if we just had the right nudge.
OH, a potato! is that nudge.
how can I get started with food waste meal planning?
You don’t need to change everything overnight. Just start with what you already have.
We made a week meal planning guide for beginners that walks you through:
How to check your fridge before you plan
How to build a core weekly menu you actually enjoy
How to share the planning with your household (without the bickering)
glossary: what we mean when we say...
App for food waste
A tool that helps reduce how much food you throw away - usually by planning better, tracking what you have, or suggesting recipes to use it up.
Meal planning
Organizing your meals ahead of time - can be for a day, a week, or just a few nights - to save money, time, reduce stress, and use food more efficiently.
Shared meal planning
Shared meal planning means everyone contributes—so it’s not all on one person to decide what’s for dinner. You get one clear plan everyone can see, one grocery list that updates for the whole household, and no more forgotten items or three bottles of soy sauce.
Grocery list integration
A built-in grocery list that connects directly to your meal plan, so you don’t need another app. Quickly check off what you already have, see what’s missing, and shop only for what you actually need.
Recipe import
Adding your own recipes from outside the app - via screenshots, links, or manual entry.
Want to turn your sprouted potatoes into something magical (and edible)?
Start here.
Less waste. Better meals. More room in the fridge.
© 2025 The Zero-Waste Company SRL. All rights reserved. CIF: 47967009, Reg. Com. J26/587/2023
Our story to cook more and reduce food waste
what is an app for food waste?
An app for food waste helps you waste less by helping you plan better. It’s not about guilt - it’s about giving you the tools to actually use what’s in your fridge, cook meals that make sense, and stop buying groceries you forget about two days later.
OH, a potato! is one of those apps. But it didn’t start that way.
We built it because we were stuck in a loop:
Hungry grocery shopping → Buying too much → Forgetting half of it → Finding a soggy bag of spinach and a single moldy blueberry by Thursday.
Sound familiar?
We cared about food waste. We tried to plan ahead. But nothing worked long term. The apps we found were either:
Focused on weight loss
Clunky spreadsheets in disguise
Too prescriptive (who actually wants five days of chicken breast and broccoli?)
Too rigid, not allowing us to save our own recipes as well
So we made something that felt like real life: messy, shared, and surprisingly hopeful.
how does an app for food waste actually help?
Turns out, household food waste is a planning problem, not a caring problem. Most people want to waste less - they just don’t have the right systems to make it happen.
According to the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024, households are responsible for 60% of all food waste globally, with the average home tossing 79 kg of food per person per year.
And yet, one thing makes a measurable difference: meal planning.
“The most effective way to reduce food waste at home is to plan meals around what you already have. Apps that support this habit can be a game changer.”
- Dana Gunders, Executive Director, ReFED
We didn’t just want to build an app that helped us feel better. We wanted one that worked:
Finds recipes using what’s already in our fridge or pantry
Imports recipes from anywhere - screenshots, reels, cookbooks
Lets us meal plan together
Has an integrated grocery list (so we don’t need to use another app for grocery shopping)
And actually looks... cute
how does OH, a potato! compare to other apps?
Here’s how we stack up against other popular options. This comparison focuses on value and features, not pricing:
Feature
Cook-from-what-you have
Shared household planning
Recipe import from screenshots/reels
Grocery list integration
Beautiful, modern design
Focus on reducing food waste
Streaks/tamagotchi mechanism
OH, a potato!
Mealime
Plan to Eat
(manual)
Paprika
(manual)
Cookpad
Bottom line: If you're trying to eat better and waste less without turning into a spreadsheet or fighting with your roommate, Potato gets it.
where does food waste actually come from?
Most food doesn’t go bad in the supply chain - it goes bad in your fridge.
According to WRAP UK, 70% of the UK’s post-farm food waste comes from households. And globally, it’s not that different.
Here’s the surprising part: most people don’t realize how much they’re wasting. According to ReFED, U.S. households waste about $1,866 per year in food per family.
That’s a lot of moldy blueberries.
why is household food waste such a big problem?
Household food waste isn’t just sad blueberries and forgotten lettuce. It’s a massive environmental issue hiding in plain sight.
When food gets thrown out, all the resources used to grow, ship, store, and cook that food are wasted too. That includes:
Water: 24% of all freshwater used in agriculture is lost through food waste (FAO, 2023)
Land: If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the U.S. (UNEP, 2024)
Money: The average household tosses over $1,800 worth of food annually (ReFED, 2024)
And here's the kicker: most of it is avoidable.
Food doesn’t rot in landfills because we don’t care - it’s because we forget what we bought, don’t plan how to use it, or buy in bulk without a plan. It’s not a moral failing. It’s just logistics.
“Tackling food waste at home is one of the simplest, most impactful ways individuals can reduce their environmental footprint—often with immediate results.”
— Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland
The good news? You don’t need to overhaul your life to make a difference. Planning just a few meals ahead using what you already have can cut your waste significantly.
And yes - that includes turning a half-used onion, three wrinkly tomatoes, and a dream into dinner. Need a place to start? Check out our quick dinner ideas made from what’s already in your fridge.
what makes OH, a potato! different?
We designed OH, a potato! with two things in mind:
Real ingredients - not just perfect produce or pre-set plans
Real households - people who share a kitchen and want fewer passive-aggressive “What’s for dinner?” texts
We didn’t want to feel like we were doing extra work to be sustainable. We just wanted less food guilt and fewer chaotic evenings.
Want help building a system that works? Start here with our ideas for meal planning.
why the name OH, a potato!?
We were actively thinking about how to name our app.
Then came the sprouted potato, a literal sign from the food waste gods. A forgotten, sprouting potato at the back of our fridge. It reminded us that every forgotten ingredient could be something amazing... if we just had the right nudge.
OH, a potato! is that nudge.
how can I get started with food waste meal planning?
You don’t need to change everything overnight. Just start with what you already have.
We made a week meal planning guide for beginners that walks you through:
How to check your fridge before you plan
How to build a core weekly menu you actually enjoy
How to share the planning with your household (without the bickering)
glossary: what we mean when we say...
App for food waste
A tool that helps reduce how much food you throw away - usually by planning better, tracking what you have, or suggesting recipes to use it up.
Meal planning
Organizing your meals ahead of time - can be for a day, a week, or just a few nights - to save money, time, reduce stress, and use food more efficiently.
Shared meal planning
Shared meal planning means everyone contributes—so it’s not all on one person to decide what’s for dinner. You get one clear plan everyone can see, one grocery list that updates for the whole household, and no more forgotten items or three bottles of soy sauce.
Grocery list integration
A built-in grocery list that connects directly to your meal plan, so you don’t need another app. Quickly check off what you already have, see what’s missing, and shop only for what you actually need.
Recipe import
Adding your own recipes from outside the app - via screenshots, links, or manual entry.
Want to turn your sprouted potatoes into something magical (and edible)?
Start here.
Less waste. Better meals. More room in the fridge.
© 2025 The Zero-Waste Company SRL. All rights reserved. CIF: 47967009, Reg. Com. J26/587/2023