Who We Are

Our Mission

ReFED is a national nonprofit dedicated to ending food loss and waste by advancing data-driven solutions.

With our holistic view of the food system, we’re working to achieve a 50% food waste reduction in accordance with the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. We're doing it by fostering informed action – action that’s driven by solutions to specific challenges, that’s grounded in data, that’s targeted to where it can benefit the most, and that’s coordinated across multiple stakeholders and evaluated to ensure success. 

We believe it's possible to solve the food waste crisis. And informed action will get us there.

Our Work Focuses include:

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Data & Insights

Leveraging data and insights to highlight supply chain inefficiencies and economic opportunities

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Capital & Innovation

Catalyzing capital to spur innovation and scale high-impact initiatives

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Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder Engagement

Mobilizing and connecting people to take targeted action

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Our Vision

Our Vision

A sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food system that optimizes environmental resources, minimizes climate impacts, and makes the best use of the food we grow.  

Our Values

Our values ground our decision-making, root our actions in a shared purpose greater than ourselves, and are a cornerstone of our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food system that preserves the well-being of our planet, our people, and our economy. At ReFED, we are committed to:

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Collaborative Expertise

We convene the food system and leverage the expertise and capabilities of individuals to collectively advance solutions.

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Diverse Perspectives

We believe our work is enriched by an inclusive network of diverse and underrepresented voices that help us contribute to our mission.

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Credible Data

We provide data that comes from identified sources, is grounded in accessible analyses, and serves as the foundation for impactful solutions.

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Practical Ambition

We lead with an entrepreneurial spirit and approach problems and solutions with a strategic and economic mindset.

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Tangible Outcomes

We are driven by purposeful action and seek observable results, judging our progress through the achievement of milestones large and small.

Our History

From the beginning, ReFED sought to bring new philanthropic and investment capital, along with technology, business, and policy innovation, to the food waste challenge.

ReFED launched in 2015 as a collaboration of more than 30 industry, nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders committed to reducing food waste in the United States. We were formed to create A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent, the first ever national economic analysis and action plan to tackle the issue at-scale. The first Roadmap was designed to fill the gap between awareness and action by creating transparency in the waste flows, costs, and opportunities of a more efficient food system. These frameworks and methodologies have been adopted or used by over 20 organizations, including Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Canada, Walmart, Deloitte, and Johns Hopkins University. ReFED has since evolved into one of the nation’s leading food waste organizations working to build a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food system.

ReFED developed a core economic model to perform three analyses on the solutions in the Roadmap:

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A total net societal “Economic Value” based on their cost-effectiveness per ton of waste.

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The non-financial impacts of each solution – greenhouse gases reduced, water conserved, meals saved, and jobs created.

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The business profit potential that the private sector could earn by investing in each solution.

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