# A Game Theoretic Framework for Surplus Food Distribution in Smart Cities and Beyond
## 1 Introduction
### Related Work
#### 1.1.1 Literature Review  
Work has been conducted in this field that evaluates the efficacy of the usage of ICT in food redistribution or carries out survey-based research on the current usage of ICT by different food sharing communities. The perishable nature of products has forced changes to the food supply chain design to maximize shelf-life and minimize food waste [7]. The rapid global growth of volunteer-dependent and ICT-based platform-mediated surplus food redistribution initiatives has been identified in [8]. This research captured both the worlds of dominant interests and root cause mitigating best practices that are traded off in such food movements. The involvement and contributions of cultures, organizational facts and internal experiences have also been explored [9]. While the study first reviewed the food waste management system of Singapore and the prevailing socio-political context, it also went on to discuss all formats of people's interactions with food waste related problems. Reduction in food waste production as an approach for mitigating climate change attempted by grassroots initiatives aims to prevent avoidable food waste and redistribute surplus food for consumption, as presented in [10]. These low budget initiatives rely heavily on volunteers to curb their costs. ICT, in terms of social media, acts as another tool in their success in surplus food movement. It has been suggested that environmental sustainability is best supported by an approach called the _Social Supermarket_, in which a body for handling the surplus of a city works with several food distributors to acquire surplus food either directly from the donors or through a charitable government body and redistributes it to the needy [11]. However, economically,the study reveals that the concept of _Food Bag Center_ is the most efficient, in which a body collects the surplus food of a city and redistributes it in grocery bags to financially challenged people. A unique study [12] reported an attempt at the complicated task of reducing consumer food waste at cafeterias using the combo of ICTs and IoTs. Lunch lines containing sensors that track food wastage, which is later shown by an app on each consumer's mobile, revealed an average of 3% of food wasted by the customers. Surplus food databases of market value have been created [13] and the prevailing practices of surplus food management assessed. Propelled by a Thailand food rescue organization, the study went on to make several recommendations in the process that strengthened the organization's ties with the donors and the receivers. As mentioned, partnering with a food sharing app _OLIO_ ([[https://olioex.com/](https://olioex.com/)]([https://olioex.com/](https://olioex.com/)), accessed on 24 December 2020), an analysis of the social network of the app was presented [2]. The analysis revealed the formation of new relationships that divert from the expected donor-receiver ones. This may prove pivotal for policy makers who aim to analyze and encourage ICT-assisted food redistribution. Recent studies [14; 15] discuss the legislation policies affecting food wastage directly or indirectly in the European Union. They argued that although the existing policies do facilitate better food redistribution by means of mitigating existing challenges to smooth-out the process, they do not address the issue at the root level in terms of prevention of surplus food generation. They pointed out that the food policies of the land affect proper food redistribution and food waste prevention. The use of ICT speeds up the redistribution process, provides high scalability of the operations and also attracts better quality surplus food [16]. Research [17] also documents the complexities and opportunities involved in food redistribution locally. The study also highlights the practices that can transform the way surplus food is perceived and revalued.