ReFED hosts its annual Food Waste Solutions Summit to convene practitioners from across the food community under our “big tent” to advance our vision of a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food system that makes the best use of the food we grow. This article series is designed to keep conversations from the Summit going throughout the year and revisit some of the key themes and takeaways shared during the conference. To learn more about the Summit, visit summit.refed.org.

“You are what you eat” is a common adage that speaks to the connection between what we consume and our physical health. It might be obvious that dietitians are a group that are acutely aware of this connection, who have made a profession educating the rest of us about it. What is less obvious is that many dietitians are also very familiar with the scale of food waste in the United States and why it’s important to address it.

“As a dietitian looking through the lens of nutrition, there’s an obvious tie-in to food waste,” says Cara Harbstreet, Director of Nutrition at Oatly and founder of Street Smart Nutrition, a nutrition communications consultancy. “When food is discarded and ends up in a landfill, the nutrition that we would have gotten from that food goes to waste.”

That connection between nutrition and food waste was the topic of a breakout session at the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit titled Wellness On Your Plate: The Intersection of Diet, Health, and Waste, which featured Cara and additional panelists, including Violet Noe, Project Manager, Global Food Research Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

To continue exploring the connection between nutrition and food waste and the role dietitians can play in helping consumers waste less, we connected with Cara and Violet. Here are three key takeaways from our conversations.

The most commonly wasted foods are what we need to be eating more of.

ReFED data shows that 80% of the food that goes unsold or uneaten, what we call surplus food, comes from perishables, with fruits and vegetables alone constituting more than a third of total food waste. Yet at the same time, “Nine out of 10 Americans are not eating enough fruits and vegetables or other fiber-rich foods, which are what often ends up in the garbage at the household level,” explains Cara. Making matters worse, these foods are typically some of the more expensive ones in the grocery basket, meaning consumers are not only wasting valuable nutrients but their hard-earned money as well.

Fortunately, Cara and Violet recommend some easy tips to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables while reducing food waste. “I’m an advocate for frozen or canned produce, particularly for those items you tend to waste the most,” says Cara. “Planning meals, as well as storing food properly, are two ways to potentially improve fruit and vegetable consumption and nutrition security, defined as consistent and equitable access to health-promoting foods,” notes Violet.

Connecting food waste to personal values is an effective way to encourage small behaviors that reduce wasted food.

Similar to the connection between what you eat and your personal health, drawing connections between the food waste problem and someone’s personal values is an effective way to encourage behaviors and habits that ultimately translate to less wasted food. “We as clinicians in dietetics practice inquisitive questioning to understand what matters to our clients and what actions they can take to come into alignment with those values,” explains Cara. “This is a great place to start when it comes to changing behaviors around food waste—whether it’s the environment or climate change, finding the tie-in to link values to action is extremely empowering.”

And because food waste touches on so many things people care about, there are many options to choose from. “We’re seeing shifting values in the ways we look at food, whether that’s a focus on personal or public health, planetary health, or price consciousness…cutting food waste is applicable in each of these scenarios,” says Cara.

And once that value connection is established, the door is open to encouraging small behavior changes to align with those values. “Unfortunately, a lot of folks look at how big the food waste issue is and think, ‘little changes won’t add up to anything’—but small changes are necessary, and can be a catalyst for bigger changes in other settings beyond your household,” adds Cara. These changes can be as simple as making a grocery list before going shopping, to more involved efforts like setting up a backyard compost bin.

Dietitians are in a unique position to support the food waste reduction movement.

“Dietitians are uniquely qualified as food and nutrition experts, and the more we take a holistic approach to talk about food and the nutrients we’re getting from it, the better conversations we’ll have with clients—and food waste is a part of this,” notes Cara.

“When providing nutrition education to clients or patients, dietitians can incorporate education on the environmental impact of food choices in addition to the nutritional impact,” explains Violet. “Dietitians can also incorporate strategies for reducing food waste when teaching new cooking techniques, giving shopping tips, or helping individuals to meal plan,” she adds.

On how dietitians can get more involved, Cara explains, “Seek out learning opportunities like cooking classes, collaborations with chefs, or obtaining a food safety certification—all of these options add more depth into what we can share to promote interest in food waste reduction. And get creative around opportunities to interact with folks and provide hands-on education—showing up in teaching kitchens or culinary medicine programs or local libraries. We already talk to people about health, wellness, and chronic disease prevention; make sure food waste is taken into consideration as well.”

You can watch the full recording of Wellness On Your Plate: The Intersection of Diet, Health, and Waste below. To stay up-to-date on all of the latest ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit news, sign up for our mailing list.