Dana Gunders
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Dana Gunders (She/Her)
President
Truckee, CA
Deemed "the woman who helped start the waste-free movement" by Consumer Reports, Dana Gunders is a national expert who has dedicated her career to helping industry, policymakers, and consumers activate solutions to reduce food waste. Her landmark 2012 report "Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40% of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill" sparked a national dialogue about the consequences of food waste, and since then, she has continued to bring the issue to a wider audience through testimony before Congress, her Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook, and appearances in media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Time, Fox News, Teen Vogue, PBS "Newshour," and hundreds of other outlets. Before joining ReFED in 2019, she served as a founding board member for the organization.
When not worrying about it professionally, Dana spends far too much time convincing her two young kids to eat broccoli stalks and reinventing their uneaten lunches as family dinner.
Connect with me about
Food waste; Food systems; Climate; Philanthropy; Media
Speaking Engagements
Recent Conferences: SF Climate Week (2025); "All Things Food" at SXSW (2025); Congreso Futuro (2025); TED Countdown (2024); NYC Climate Week (2024); Australian Food Waste Summit (2024); U.S. House of Representatives Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (2024); COP28 in Dubai (2023); Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (2023); Google Food Talk (2023)
Recent Media: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, NPR, CNN, FOX Business, PBS, Waste 360, Food Tank
Published Works
- "Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40% of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill"
- Waste Free Kitchen Handbook, Chronicle Books, 2015
Fun Facts
Languages Spoken: English, Spanish (highly proficient)
Favorite Food: Potstickers
Favorite Quote: "Hate traffic? You are traffic!”
Favorite Concept: "Dog sharing"—she shares a dog with a close friend, and it splits time between Dana's home and her friend's. "It's a model I'm surprised more people don't pursue!"
Food She Struggles the Most Not to Waste: Cilantro
Other Links
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