A Commitment to Solving Food Waste: Ideas from Two Days of the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

“The core conviction of this group to help food go to its best use creates an impact that is bigger than the food itself,” noted ReFED President Dana Gunders in her keynote address at the start of the first mainstage session of the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit. This conviction and commitment to solving food waste fueled the conversations on stage and in the conference halls and set the tone for an incredible schedule of mainstage and breakout sessions, networking opportunities, field trips, and more. Here are a few of the key ideas we’re thinking about from the Summit so far:

The Great Redesign of the Food System: In describing the challenge of identifying the biggest levers to pull to solve food waste, ReFED President Dana Gunders said, “We have a million silver buck shots, but no silver bullet.” The foundation has been built, and progress is happening, but what are the 3-5 highest priority changes that need to happen to galvanize our work, make it more accessible, and bring more people in? This is the invitation that Dana proposed to the group as she described how a host of external factors—from high food prices to supply chain disruptions to GLP-1 usage and more—are leading to what she called “The Great Redesign of the Food System.” And that is giving us an opportunity to capitalize on all of the knowledge and innovation at our fingertips to design out the food waste. One of the key facets of this is developing a culture that values food and thinks throwing it out is as taboo as littering. To help make that a reality, a new national campaign led by WWF is being launched called “Ending Wasted Food Within a Generation,” which includes an Ad Council media campaign and grants to organizations that can help drive household food waste reduction. Dana’s keynote was preceded by a special announcement of the most recent ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund grantees—nine organizations that are demonstrating the power of bold ideas, perseverance, and deep passion to drive change.

Empowering the next generation: Michiel Bakker, president of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and a ReFED Board member, emphasized the importance of engaging and empowering the next generation of food system leaders who will effect change. Speaking about first-generation students at the CIA, Bakker said, “Many do not come from privileged environments or have been impacted by the problems we’re discussing…they’ve lived it, and they want to make an impact for the families they come from…they have extraordinary conviction, and they will effect change.” Whether it's culinary students at CIA or elementary school-aged children, engaging and empowering the next generation in food waste reduction, through cooking and food education, mentorship, connections, and more, is essential to making a meaningful impact on food waste in our country.

Using food as a force for connection: “When it comes to motivating everyday individuals, leveraging the storytelling and emotional connection to food that everyone shares regardless of ideology…that’s a connection that has been around for millennia,” stated James Beard Award-winning chef and founder of Wholesome Wave Michel Nischan. It’s this connecting force that can level the playing field across political or cultural ideologies and allow for alignment on issues that everyone cares about—whether that’s increasing access to healthy foods, removing additives, or creating a future free of food waste.

The intersection of artificial intelligence and food waste: Just this week, ReFED released a first-of-its-kind landscape assessment of how artificial intelligence (AI) is currently being applied to food waste reduction, where it's delivering measurable results, and where its impact remains constrained. The report was brought to life by leaders from Thermo King and Compass Group who described how AI is helping improve decision-making, make “invisible” waste more visible, and inform real-time actions that prevent food waste. And while there is still a way to go before AI is deployed widely to address food waste, the traction we’re seeing in foodservice and more recently grocery retail shows that this technology is here to stay.

A waste problem, or an education problem? During the final session of the day, chef, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and television host Andrew Zimmern conducted a culinary demo with support from New York Times reporter Kim Severson, in which the two used a salmon fish head and other ingredients to create a delicious dish using food items that would typically be considered waste. Yet as Andrew pointed out, what might be waste in the United States is actually the most highly prized piece of fish in other parts of the world. So how do we use education to normalize cooking with things we don’t typically cook with? “It’s not a waste problem, it’s an education problem…or perhaps, an ‘opportunity to learn’ problem.” And when you extrapolate this thinking to a whole community, state, or country, you can start to see how a real difference can be made.