"New Crop of Companies Reaping Profits From Wasted Food"

"Just as Rumpelstiltskin spun gold from straw, scores of new companies are trying to spin profits out of food waste.

Several start-ups are chasing ways to use food waste to make other edibles. Some are aiming to quickly distribute food that is about to be thrown out. And yet others are working to use every last ounce of ingredients.

Food waste, in other words, is now a platform for commerce.

“I’m convinced there’s a business that’s a kind of Uber for refrigerated trucks,” said Jesse Fink, a founder of the travel site Priceline who now calls himself a food waste evangelist."

Stephanie Strom reports for the New York Times May 24, 2016.