In 2024, the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment (PCFWC), in collaboration with the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), published seven case studies—more in a single year than ever before—with a focus on the PCFWC’s work collaborating with businesses to scale proven food waste solutions. The case studies detail intervention projects launched with participating food businesses, with a special emphasis on those that are repeatable and have broad impact potential. This article provides an overview of two solutions areas—employee engagement and whole chain collaboration—including what is driving their success and what’s to come in 2025.

Employee Engagement

In 2022, an intervention project that engaged employees in food waste reduction at a Bob’s Red Mill manufacturing plant in Oregon saw incredible results. The location was able to reduce food waste by over 70% through implementation of a line optimization—an idea that was generated by an employee. In this project, employees at the plant first received training about food waste. Then, applying what they learned, they participated in a friendly competition, submitting ideas to reduce waste generated during their own manufacturing process. The winning idea—which sought to regularly check and re-tighten loose bolts on a product line—was implemented and tested over a period of time, and it resulted in more than a 70% reduction in food waste.

Given this intervention project’s success, the PCFWC replicated this model two additional times, both captured in case studies from 2024. A similar project at a Land O’Lakes manufacturing plant reduced waste of a single product by 74%, while 53% of potential food waste was recovered through an employee engagement project at a Fresh Del Monte plant.

Since the employee engagement intervention model has become a cornerstone of PCFWC programming, the U.S. Food Waste Pact has expanded its reach further. For the first time, the employee engagement model has scaled nationally and in an entirely new sector—foodservice. The case study detailing this project, led by a major foodservice company, is slated for publication in 2025, and it will include the results of more than ten employee engagement projects in dining halls across the country. Additionally, the Pact is developing an Employee Engagement Toolkit, an open-access resource for food businesses from all sectors to use to pilot their own employee engagement intervention projects.

Whole Chain

Employee engagement is not the only model that’s been tested and scaled by the PCFWC and the Pact. The PCFWC’s Whole Chain project, which began in 2023, published three case studies in 2024, with plans to scale significantly in 2025. What makes the Whole Chain project unique relative to other intervention projects tested by the initiatives is its goal to look at food waste across the entire supply chain of one commodity. Not only does this broader scope uncover more data about when and where food is being lost or wasted in a commodity’s journey through the food system, but this kind of project requires a level of collaboration from participants that isn’t typical in other intervention projects—or in regular business operations.

The Whole Chain project kicked off with a focus on two separate commodities: fresh strawberries and frozen potatoes. Case studies detailing the results of those projects were published at the beginning of 2024, and they identified waste hotspots in both commodities’ supply chains. In both cases, growers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers worked together to track and aggregate food loss and waste data. These case studies marked the first time that food waste hotspots were identified for a commodity’s entire supply chain in the United States.

The Whole Chain project published an additional case study in 2024, which detailed the second phase for the potato commodity. In the intervention project, three categories of food waste solutions were identified for the processing node of the chain, which if fully implemented could keep 25.6 million more pounds of potatoes per year in the human food supply chain. In all three of these case studies, food waste prevention is emphasized. While recovery and recycling solutions are critical to making sure food stays out of landfills, prevention solutions mitigate the negative effects caused by food waste as it makes its way through the supply chain, including the generation of additional greenhouse gas emissions and higher costs to produce food.

Scaling the Whole Chain project to more commodities—including meat, dairy, and fruit—is a priority in 2025. Additionally, a case study about the plum supply chain in the Pacific Northwest is slated to be published in 2025, and there will be a second phase intervention project for strawberries that applies the lessons learned in the first phase.

What’s Next

While both initiatives worked on implementing and scaling solutions in 2024, this year will continue and expand upon those efforts, including into new sectors. Additional potential areas of focus include low-waste events and consumer engagement. And as the U.S. Food Waste Pact welcomes more signatories, the impacts of these pilots will be felt on a national level, with more food businesses using their findings to optimize their operations.