The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #EmbraceEquity by recognizing that people don't begin life with the same circumstances, and that can make it more difficult for them to achieve the same goals. What does this mean for food waste?

The number of food waste solution providers founded or led by women is large and growing, but they face unique challenges compared to their male counterparts – most notably the pervasive stereotype that “successful business leaders” must be men. This can limit opportunities for funding, partnerships, promotion and other recognition, and more. How can we change this? By recognizing the unique circumstances that women may be facing and taking a more expansive view to be more inclusive. It’s critical to reaching our collective goal of decreasing food waste by 50% by 2030.

As part of ReFED’s efforts to catalyze capital to scale food waste solutions, we’re celebrating and amplifying female leaders across the food system who are working to ensure we make the best use of the food we grow. From repurposing nutrient-dense upcycled ingredients to leveraging blockchain technology to redistributing food to those in need, these female-founded and/or led businesses are doing innovative things to fight food waste – they’re all included in ReFED’s Solution Provider Directory, and they’re all actively fundraising. 

See the (non-exhaustive) list of female-founded or led solution providers here.

See all of the organizations working to fight food waste in the Solution Provider Directory.