In 2019 our co-founder Nathan spent a short time visiting a Chinese monastery and took part in one of their fasts, at the end of which the monks took him to the closest town to celebrate with an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet. A starving Nathan powered through his first two plates and loaded up his third, but found he couldn't eat another bite. One of the monks furiously chastised him for his irresponsible attitude toward food waste and forced him to eat every last morsel before he was allowed to leave the restaurant.

So inspired by a rural encounter with a monk who wouldn’t accept any good food going to waste, we set out to build a fairer food system - one that’s good for growers, good for buyers and good for the planet.