Why do hospitality and food service businesses use food sharing platforms? A social practice perspective on surplus food redistribution to reduce food waste

Food sharing platforms (FSPs) offer a viable, scalable digital solution for redistributing surplus edible food to address global food waste and food insecurity. Despite this value proposition, the drivers of adoption and continued use of FSPs by hospitality and food service (HaFS) businesses remain an under-researched topic. This study draws upon social practice theory to uncover the meanings, competences, and materials that impact the adoption and routinization of FSP use as a practice among HaFS businesses. We employed a four-stage qualitative research design to collect data from 35 HaFS professionals working in the UK and the US. Analysis of responses revealed five value propositions: responsible citizenship behavior, altruism and social sensitivity, building positive brand image and publicity, customer and community alignment, and cost savings and economic incentives. The study further uncovered the key competences (the technology adoption learning curve, handling and managing inventory, and typical operational capabilities) and materials (operational processes and data analytics and process efficiency) required to routinize FSP use. Finally, we proposed actionable strategies to enhance economic and social value, ranging from dynamic pricing and customer incentives to destigmatizing FSP use and data-driven menu and portion adjustments. Based on these findings, we proposed a novel assessment–implementation–optimization–outcomes framework that offers theoretical and practical implications for HaFS businesses and FSP providers.