(March 7, 2022) – Today, ReFED announced that Google is providing $1 million in anchor funding for the upcoming ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund, a new five-year initiative designed to provide non-dilutive and patient capital that de-risks and scales food waste solutions with the potential for high impact. ReFED is actively soliciting additional contributions to raise a total of at least $10 million to support solutions across the food waste spectrum – from prevention to rescue to recycling.
"Google’s commitment to drastically reducing food waste goes beyond our own operations. We publicly committed in 2019 to maximize the reuse of finite resources across our facilities, products, and supply chains -- and enable others to do the same. That’s why we are proud to provide anchor funding for the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund,” said Emily Ma, Head of Food for Good at Google. “We aim to drive technology, process, policy and infrastructure innovation where it is most needed, because we know the biggest impact will come when the entire industry is empowered to keep food from going to waste."
“Capital is a critical lever in the fight against food waste, and catalytic funding from calculated, yet risk-tolerant, philanthropic sources plays an important role in sparking innovation and scaling solutions,” said Alexandria Coari, ReFED’s Vice President of Capital, Innovation & Engagement. “The ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund will be a one-stop, streamlined pooled funding vehicle that allows funders to leverage ReFED’s extensive food waste expertise and knowledge of fundable initiatives to drive exponentially more impact collectively versus going it alone.”
When launched, the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund will distribute recoverable and non-recoverable grants to for-profit companies, nonprofit organizations, and other initiatives to reduce food waste. Over its lifetime, the Fund and its grantees aim to have a significant impact on the diversion of food waste; the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; the rescue of healthy, culturally-appropriate meals for those in need; and the conservation of natural resources.
Google’s contribution aligns with its larger commitment to “create a circular Google within a sustainable world.” As part of this effort, the company is doubling down on its efforts to reduce waste in its own operations – by 2025, it aims to cut food waste in half for each Google employee and send zero food waste to landfill – and throughout the broader food system. It has also signed on to the U.S. Food Waste Action Plan, developed in part by ReFED, which provides five key strategies for the federal government to help achieve national and international food waste reduction goals.
Funders interested in discussing a contribution to the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund can contact Alexandria Coari at [email protected]
Those interested in learning more about the upcoming official launch of the Fund and receiving updates on future open calls for grantees, information sessions, and more can submit their contact information here.