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More than a third of the food produced in the U.S. goes uneaten—and berries and salad greens are among the most likely to end up in the trash, since both tend to go bad quickly. (ReFED, a food waste nonprofit, estimates that 20% of the strawberries grown in a year...

NEW YORK, NY – Direct U.S. private investment into solutions to reduce food waste reached an all-time high of $2 billion in 2021 following ten years of accelerating growth in the sector, according to new data from ReFED, the national nonprofit working to end food loss and waste across the food system....

MINNEAPOLIS – As he gazed out at the sizable gathering at the University of Minnesota on Wednesday, Pete Pearson didn’t mince words.Pearson, senior director of food waste at the World Wildlife Fund, asked the crowd “How do we not only address [the food waste] issue, but how do we accelerate it?...

Technology companies tackling food waste raised $1.9 billion in funding in 2021, representing 101% year-on-year growth, according to a new report from US-based nonprofit ReFED. This takes investment in food waste tech and business models mitigating food loss to over $7 billion over the past 10 years.

In 2018, the EPA estimated that more food made its way to landfills and incinerators than any other type of trash. This hour, we’re talking with people who help us understand food waste and its impacts. How much food are we wasting and how might we turn food waste into opportunities to...

A new report urges Congress to make reducing food waste a priority in the 2023 farm bill in order to address climate change and hunger while benefiting the economy.The U.S. wastes more than one-third of the food it produces and imports, according to the report, published last week by the Harvard...

A new report urges Congress to make reducing food waste a priority in the 2023 farm bill in order to address climate change and hunger while benefiting the economy.The U.S. wastes more than one-third of the food it produces and imports, according to the report, published last week by the Harvard...

Panelists Dana Gunders of ReFED, Danielle Nierenberg of FoodTank and Amy Keister of Compass Group brainstorm on ways to stop food waste from a hospitality perspective. Plus, the important role chefs can play.

ReFED has recently updated and relaunched its Food Waste Policy Finder – an online tool that provides a database of legislative and regulatory policy at the federal, state, and local levels pertaining to food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling. ReFED is a nonprofit collaboration formed in 2015 of over 40 business, nonprofit,...

Erin Allweiss and Melody Serafino, founders of PR agency No. 29 Communications, weigh in on how to publicize your company's environmental efforts in a way that feels genuine and authentic to your audience

Households are some of the biggest contributors to food waste in the United States, according to research from ReFED.The organization reports that households generate 30 million surplus food tons, or 37 percent, of all food waste in the U.S. Almost half ended up in landfills, where it emits harmful greenhouse gases that...

This is the dumbest problem ever and it is completely solvable,” says Dana Gunders, the Executive Director of ReFed. She’s talking about food waste. And she’s been talking about food waste for more than a decade — long before it was even a blip on most people’s radars.

The nonprofit ReFED, in collaboration with the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC), recently updated and relaunched the Food Waste Policy Finder. This online tool provides a comprehensive database of legislative and regulatory policy at the federal, state, and local levels pertaining to food waste prevention, recovery, and...

The extent of food waste is staggering. Though the figures are dynamic, a report by United Nations Environment Programme published in 2021, estimated 931 million tons of food waste was generated in 2019, globally. Of that figure, 26 percent was derived from food services, particularly in high-income countries.In the U.S.,...

Wasted food prevention addresses the root causes of food waste and includes actions that reduce surplus food generation by addressing inefficiencies across the food system. Prevention strategies range from creating secondary markets so that farmers can make sure their crops aren’t lost to ensuring that people and businesses can use...

The U.S. government's 2030 food loss and waste reduction goal is fast approaching, and food prices are on the rise. Dana Gunders discusses what this all means for reduction and recycling efforts.

In a Facebook group focused on Trader Joe’s meal ideas, a woman created a post in February with a photo of the store’s branded Green Goddess Salad Dressing.She’d bought the bottle months earlier, she wrote, and it had a use by date of Dec. 16, 2021. But she hadn’t opened it and...

ReFED, a nonprofit working to reduce food waste in the U.S., is raising $10 million to support startups and other nonprofits in the space.

Taking a glimpse at reporting food system with Adele Peters at Fast Company

 To stop throwing away food—and money—try some of these simple strategies at home.

During a two-part session at the Future of Food at SXSW, anti-food waste advocates promoted solutions to address food loss and food waste. The conversation took place as part of the Future of Food @ SXSW co-hosted by The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation, Little Herds, The...

In a Facebook group focused on Trader Joe’s meal ideas, a woman created a post in February with a photo of the store’s branded Green Goddess Salad Dressing.She’d bought the bottle months earlier, she wrote, and it had a use by date of Dec. 16, 2021. But she hadn’t opened it and...

As climate change intensifies, the world’s food supply becomes increasingly at risk; and as the ensuing crisis in Ukraine demonstrates, widespread food insecurity and global instability will exacerbate one another.

The supply chain continues to struggle, food prices are skyrocketing, and food insecurity remains a huge problem, but the U.S. is wasting a staggering amount of food every year. In fact, 35% of the 229 million tons of food in our country are not sold or eaten, which is equivalent...

A new 14-country assessment reveals that actions to improve food systems are a “missed opportunity” to cut at least one-fifth of emissions needed to avoid catastrophic climate change.

As the war in Ukraine heightens food insecurity, a new report argues that producing what we eat in a sustainable way will lessen dependence of imports while fighting climate change.

Companies are fighting to end food waste in more ways than one, from packaging technology to supply chain innovations. In this episode, I’m joined by Dana Gunders, Executive Director of ReFED, who discusses the scope of the food waste problem and effective solutions, and Aidan Mouat, CEO and Co-Founder of...

According to ReFED, produce is the largest category of household food waste at 22 percent by weight. 

Syracuse University’s Center for Sustainable Community Solutions (CSCS) and the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) at the Rochester Institute of Technology are partnering on a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assist communities and stakeholders in New York State with reducing the amount of edible...

Award to assist state communities with reducing amount of edible food that goes to waste

Super Bowl LVI took place on Feb. 13, 2022 to a stadium of 70,000 fans elated to watch the Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in a narrow victory. While some celebrated the game, others awaited the multi-million dollar powerhouse of commercial ads at every break. Hellmann's joined the...

In this episode our host, Taylor Haelterman, dives into food waste consequences and solutions with Katy Hart, operations director of the non-profit organization ReFED.

The US wastes a shocking amount of food, roughly 40 percent of the food it produces, much of it perfectly edible and nutritious. Food is lost or wasted for a variety of reasons, from the farm to the store to the restaurant to our very own home kitchens, where each...

Google is taking aim at food waste with its two latest pledges. For such a big company, the impact could be significant.

Google’s latest sustainability pledge takes aim at a growing global issue: food waste. The multinational tech company says it will halve its food waste by 2025 and send zero food waste to landfills by the same date.

ReFED outlines seven key action areas to focus food waste reduction efforts over the next 10 years.

The bill is seen as a natural evolution in the state's focus on climate change. Organics recyclers are supportive of new compost procurement rules and first-in-the-nation product guidelines.

It’s easy to question the efficiency of our food system when you hear that 40 percent of our food goes to waste. According to the national nonprofit, ReFED, more than 50 percent of surplus food generated at farms is edible, yet remains unharvested. 

This week, cultivated seafood startup Finless Foods closed a $34 million funding round, Clean Crop Technologies raised funds for its crop protection tool, and Protenga nabbed capital for its insect farming operations.

In her book An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace, Chef  Tamar Adler writes, “The amount of food you have left from a meal is always the perfect amount for something.” The lesson is simple: endings are beginnings, not to be wasted.

While Google has long focused on making sure they run their kitchens efficiently and minimize food waste, the pause on food service brought on by the pandemic gave the tech giant a chance to step back and evaluate how they could do an even better job.

To protect our planet and keep it healthy, we need to collectively cut back on food waste — for us at Google, that means doubling down on our efforts to reduce waste in our kitchens and cafes.

Centralized composting diverts food packaging waste from landfills, reduces emissions and creates jobs

Simple signs reminding employees to take only what they need—and that they can always come back for more—have also helped, the company says.

Dana Gunders, executive director of the U.S. food waste reduction and management nonprofit ReFED, thinks more people should question our obsession with perfection when it comes to our meals.

Small changes alone won’t stop climate change, but your actions are still worthwhile

Small changes you can make to reduce food waste

From blockchain and IoT, to AI and analytics, technology is being harnessed to tackle global food waste, which is now at record highs

Hellmann’s made its first Super Bowl appearance in 2021 with a commercial providing tips on how to avoid wasting food at home. This year, the brand continued that messaging by showing how mayonnaise is a great accessory to help people use leftovers rather than tossing food. 

The teasers for more and more food-focused Super Bowl commercials are here, and fans can't get enough. The latest promotional smile comes to you from the folks at Hellmann's mayonnaise.

Private food waste investments in the U.S. were up 30% to $4.8 billion last year, from $3.7 billion in 2020. Still, $14 billion in financing is needed each year to reach the national goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030, estimates the nonprofit ReFED. 

Drivers of food price fluctuations such as climate change and labor shortages are also driving  a wave of innovation in food waste solutions. Reducing food waste can lead to a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food system – one that balances human needs and works for all of us. And we’re...

The staggering toll of food waste on animals.

New data from the Upcycled Food Association (UFA) shows upcycled products are having an unprecedented and growing impact on the ability to prevent food waste. The organization predicts that the 141 Upcycled Certified™ products and ingredients they have certified will have the ability to prevent more than 703 million pounds of food...

For nearly 15 years, Feeding San Diego has collected edible food that would otherwise go to waste and redistributing it to people in need.

FarmDrop is allowing area residents to buy fresh produce directly from Western New York farms. 

What does this new year have in store for the world of sustainable food and agriculture? A lot of cool and impactful initiatives is the short answer. Instead of providing you with my big picture analysis of these topics and trends, I wanted to highlight the people that inspire me...

While rescuing wasted food gets all the headlines, a new EPA report shows that avoiding it completely offers bigger benefits.

ReGrained is a food upcycling technology and ingredient platform that ‘rescues’ production side streams – currently brewers’ spent grain – and turns them into ‘delicious, versatile, better-for-you’ ingredients.

During a recent event hosted by Food Tank and WW International, policymakers, business leaders, and food waste experts advocated for Congress to pass a new Bill intended to keep surplus food out of landfills and redirect it to those in need. 

As the official start of the holiday season got under way a few weeks ago, so did the overconsumption of food for many Americans. In fact, ReFED predicts that more than 300 million pounds of food will have gone to waste this Thanksgiving in the U.S. This time of year often coincides...

Commercial and catalytic investors poured $5 billion this year into technology and tools to reduce food waste, and are mobilizing to invest more. The goal: halving food waste by 2030.

The busy holiday shopping season involves a variety of purchases – decorations, presents and especially food.  As families and friends host dinners and parties, some of that food often goes to waste. What may seem like a small amount of garbage can actually have a serious impact.  

The two nonprofits founded a network to support private, public, and philanthropic funders who want to use their capital to scale a full range of solutions to food waste.

Instead of throwing away edible food, suppliers will be legally required to donate to local food rescue organizations, following the passage of SB 1383.

The groups hope to empower investors to close the food waste funding gap.

ReFED and Upcycled Food Association – leading national nonprofits working to reduce food loss and waste across the food system and attract more investment to the space – have launched the first-ever Food Waste Funder Circle. 

Nearly all Americans—90%—report that they throw away food after its “sell by” or “use by” date, believing that consuming it after the date will make them sick. However, most food is wholesome, edible, and safe long past the date on the label, with very few exceptions. In conjunction with the...

Sell by, use by, best by—what do all these phrases mean and is it safe to eat food if the date has passed? These are questions many of us face every time we go to eat something. In reality, it’s rare that date labels have anything to do with food...

Between 73 and 152 million metric tons of food gets wasted each year in the U.S., or over over a third of the country's food supply, according to a new report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The most commonly wasted foods are fruits and vegetables, followed by dairy and eggs. Over half...

If your household is anything like mine, you’re still working through a fridge-full of leftover turkey and trimmings. With the leftover-filled sandwich as a prime example, consuming the delectable remnants of the Thanksgiving meal is thankfully (pun intended) commonplace across the United States.

Food businesses and nonprofit organizations recently released an open letter urging Congress to pass a bill intended to fight hunger by removing barriers to food donation.

The software company Spoiler Alert recently raised US$11 million in Series A funding to help fight food waste in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry.

Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced a bill Tuesday to remove roadblocks that discourage restaurants, farmers, schools and others from donating leftover food.

The Wonderful Company has chosen two winners to create value-added solutions from 50,000 annual tons of pomegranate husks, to reduce food waste and create a more circular supply chain.

The open letter calls on Congress to amend the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (1996). The 26 signatories, 18 of which are corporate and 8 are nonprofit, include Harvard Law's Food and Policy Clinic, Panera Bread, City Harvest, and more.

Food waste nonprofit ReFED published its 2022 Food Waste Forecast.

Our global food system feeds environmental crises like global warming and water pollution even as it fails to adequately feed billions of people worldwide. So in the 50th anniversary edition of “Diet for a Small Planet,” author Frances Moore Lappé renews her calls for a plant- and planet-centered food revolution....

You’ve heard the phrase one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. But how about one person’s food waste can become a delicious meal—or fruity beverage, plant-based milk, or gluten-free flour?

The holidays are approaching, and food waste is abundant.As the nation prepares to host in-person gatherings following 2020's pandemic distruptions, ReFED has released its 2022 Food Waste Forecast. 

 ReFED, the leading national nonprofit working to end food loss and waste across the food system, today announced its 2022 Food Waste Forecast.

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT FOOD WASTE? Emily Broad Leib, founder and director of Harvard’s Food Law and Policy Clinic, discusses how to reduce food waste in the United States and abroad. 

ReFED has kept a pulse on funding options for young food waste prevention and reduction companies, as well as worked to pump investments. Alejandro Enamorado, ReFED's Capital, Innovation & Engagement manager, points to three trends: Food waste reduction companies are getting more active with acquisitions. Crowdfunding has gained traction. And venture...

Food insecurity is just one widespread socioeconomic issue that has worsened throughout the pandemic. Here's how to put your dollars towards fighting hunger in your community and beyond.

Statewide legislation has led to a big rise in food donation and composting. But the trickiest part of the equation—separating food from its packaging—continues to cause headaches.

Emily Broad Leib combats wasted food worldwide.

As part of the collaboration, Chef Andrés will share tips for saving food at home and invite people to enter for a chance to win an exclusive, virtual one-on-one fridge hunting session with him

Chef/Owner, ThinkFoodGroup and Founder, World Central Kitchen José Andrés is on a mission to help all of us be a little less wasteful. In partnership with Hellmann's, the superstar chef is on a mission to save one million meals in North America.

“We can start reducing food waste before it even happens.”

Consumers lack awareness about where most discarded food comes from 

Agriculture and waste are the largest sources of the greenhouse gas, which scientists say is one key to limiting catastrophic warming fast.

Do Good Foods, a meat producer that uses recycled food waste to make supplemental animal feed, is poised to roll out its first product after securing a $169 million investment from asset-management giant Nuveen.

ReFED brings stakeholders together to find the best solutions for food waste, then shares the information with the country.

The numbers may not be quite in sync, but they’re eye-opening anyway: A good chunk of U.S.-produced food – some say more than a third, others say close to half – is not consumed but rather is thrown out annually as waste.

According to the U.N. Environment Program’s 2021 Food Waste Index Report, approximately 931 million metric tons of food ends up in the garbage. This is enough to fill 23 million 40-ton trucks “bumper-to-bumper, enough to circle the Earth seven times,” Richard Swannell, International Director at the Waste & Resources Action Programme...

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) along with Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced the bipartisan School Food Recovery Act. This bill will create a new program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support schools working on food waste reduction projects.

America wastes up to 40 percent of its food, and schools are no exception. Teaching students where food comes from is part of the solution.

Food waste is at a crisis level. While 9% of the world’s population and 12% of Americans are food insecure, one-third of all food produced is thrown away. Further, wasted food accounts for about 8% all green-house gas emissions.

Victoria Flores is the creator of The Solidarity Fridge, a community pantry on the east side of Las Vegas. “You put love in your community, and then they give love back,” said Flores, who erected the fridge May 1, International Workers Day, near Charleston Boulevard and Christy Lane.

People are going hungry, but safe, healthy food is going to waste.

Supply company Envisible is using blockchain technology to track its products from sea to store and counter fraud in the seafood industry.Also known as distributed ledger technology, blockchain allows everyone within a network to share access to the same set of data. Once a data entry is added to the blockchain ledger,...

Growing your own vegetables, herbs and fruits brings many benefits, from flavor, freshness and nutrition to assurance your produce is coming from a healthy, pesticide-free source. It also can bring more fresh food than you and your family can consume. Don’t let it go to waste.

Traditionally tossed parts, such as broccoli stems and cauliflower leaves, deserve a place on your table.

“Food gone good.” Behind this slogan, American company Apeel Sciences has invented a 100% natural protection that slows down vegetable oxidation. The principle is simple: to avoid throwing away food, it is coated with a thin, invisible and odorless layer made from fruits and vegetables.

During the final weeks of summer, eaters in the Northern hemisphere are experiencing an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. But the end of summer doesn’t mean that the season’s flavors have to disappear. Through fermentation, canning, drying, and other techniques, home cooks enjoy their favorite fruits and vegetables throughout...

Fighting food waste by extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables is the mission of American start-up Apeel Sciences, which recently raised US$250 million in funding.Founded in 2012, the company stands out for its innovative concept: making an invisible, odourless and tasteless “peel” made from the peels, pulp and...

Fighting food waste by extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables is the mission of American start-up Apeel Sciences, which recently raised US$250 million in funding.Founded in 2012, the company stands out for its innovative concept: making an invisible, odourless and tasteless “peel” made from the peels, pulp and...

Jaclyn Bowen explains how some food manufacturers are saving money and the environment through ingredient upcycling.

This two-part article explores new activity on the federal food waste reduction policy front. Part 2 tells the story of how Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and partners are working to help shape such federal policy and what strategies they think make most sense.

This two-part article explores new activity on the federal food waste reduction policy front. Part 1 looks at two newly introduced bills: The Zero Food Waste Act and the COMPOST Act.

Americans throw away between 30 and 40 percent of the country’s food supply each year.According to ReFed, 35 percent of all food in the United States went unsold or uneaten in 2019. The EPA estimates that approximately a quarter of the material in landfills is food.

Convenience stores have evolved dramatically over the past two decades. Today, customers are as likely to think of them as food stores that happen to sell gas than a gas convenience store that happens to sell food. And the numbers tell this story: More than one in six sales dollars...

Over the last 18 months, our food systems have suffered whiplash. As the concerns and costs of health, safety, labor, and raw materials have increased, markets have been in constant turmoil and hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people face chronic hunger and nutritional insecurity. The global food system...

So, you’re a food grower, manufacturer, or distributor. And you have a major dilemma.An item gets discontinued and you’re stuck with a hundred gross. Or the packaging changes and somebody’s marketing department won’t have old news on store shelves. Or the item’s short-coded: although perfectly safe, the “best by” date...

Retailer recognized for progress against audacious sustainability goals in difficult circumstances. 

Nearly everyone in the food and agriculture space has been talking about sustainability for many years, but we tend to have little agreement on what it means and how meaning changes depending on the target audience. Some will argue that organic production has the least environmental impact. Others will claim...

Save Foods (NASDAQ: SVFD) is an agri-food tech company focused on food safety and creating innovative solutions for food waste and loss. ReFED, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending food loss and waste across the U.S. food system by advancing data-driven solutions, estimates that 24% of all food in the U.S....

“Our food system is radically inefficient,” reports ReFED, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending food loss and waste across the U.S. food system by advancing data-driven solutions. “In 2019, the U.S. let a huge 35% of the 229 million tons of food available go unsold or uneaten. We call this surplus...

Zhang Shijia first had the idea of buying food past its "best before dates" when she was browsing a dizzying array of products on Taobao.The low-price tags caught her eyes. For a bag of chocolates that normally costs around 40 yuan ($6.2), the food store on China's biggest online shopping...

Last night at dinner, a family friend asked if it was true that around one-third of the food in this country is wasted. It was sobering to say yes. Estimates vary, but approximately 25-40% of food grown, processed and transported in the U.S. will never be consumed. The United States...

During a panel discussion hosted by The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN), WRAP, and the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic experts identified key solutions that can slash food waste and help reduce hunger.

Becoming carbon neutral by 2030 is becoming a civic moonshot of our time. Creating carbon neutral cities requires major carbon emissions reductions complemented by carbon removal — implying energy efficiency, 100 percent renewable power, more resilient and flexible grids, powering through the electrification of everything, and more. 

In the following piece, we explore how AgTech and Food Innovation can help solve for both sides of the sustainable production and consumption equation.

Tops Friendly Markets has rolled out the Flashfood food waste-reduction program to 17 additional stores, the New York supermarket chain announced in a press release Wednesday.

The Insight Engines market is a comprehensive market research report which provides market analysis with a historical & futuristic perspective for the following parameters; market size, revenue, demand, and supply data (as applicable). The report offers a detailed market analysis to provide a 360-degree research study on the global Insight Engines market....

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will make food waste reduction a key component of President Joe Biden’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Consumer-facing businesses, including restaurants and retailers, are responsible for 27% of food waste in the U.S., according to recent data from the ReFed Insights Engine. At 21%, farms aren’t far behind.

For all of the wrong reasons, global trade and supply chain logistics have been front of mind this year. When consumers get what they want, when they want it, they typically don’t ask too many questions about what goes on behind the scenes, such as who made the product, where...

In the United States, an estimated 30% to 40% of the food supply is wasted, according to the FDA. This is a problem for a number of reasons. First of all, it costs a lot of money—more than $400 billion in 2019, according to ReFed. In addition, all the water, energy, and...

The Insight Engines Market is expected to register a CAGR of 23.18% over the forecast period from 2021 - 2026.

Continued strides are being made around the world to ensure human food waste and food processing by-products are not sent to landfills or incinerated but converted back into nutritious products by dairy cattle. From the US to India, we look deeper into food waste as cow nutrition.

Globally, an astounding 1.3 billion tons of food are either thrown away or lost along the value chain, which is approximately a third of the entire food production. What most people are not aware of, is that the majority of food waste accumulates in the very beginning of the value...

Preventing food waste at the source remains a priority over simply diverting it from disposal, panelists said during an NYC Food Waste Fair session.

A column highlighting climate-related studies, innovations, books, cultural events and other developments from the global warming frontier.

Since we just held a Spoon event this week focused on reducing waste, I thought it appropriate to recycle my headline from earlier this year: We Need to Talk About Cashierless Checkout. I’m not just being lazy, I think we legitimately need to talk about cashierless checkout (again) because so much...

By reducing food waste in production and supply lines, the agency is exploring the prioritization of food recovery over waste diversion.

This being The Spoon, a lot of our discussions around food waste concern the innovative technologies that could help us eventually curb the multi-billion-dollar problem and meet national and international targets to halve food waste by 2050. But as we learned today at our Food Waste Insights and Innovation Forum, done in partnership...

Dumpster divers not only find usable goods, but they also post on social media to bring attention to waste and create change within the retail system. At a time of historic income inequality, food insecurity, and a global pandemic, the retail practice of throwing out usable goods and edible food...

In this Food Tech News Round-up we cover beer made from food waste in Finland, the launch of new culinary degree programs in Boulder, Colorado, Natural Light’s vacation giveaway to Alaska, and the opportunity to score some free Just Egg products for you and your friends.

Since the start of 2021, we’ve seen numerous developments that showcase how vast and varied the efforts to fight food waste have become. Sachets that slow food spoilage. Hyperspectral imaging to analyze avocados. Vodka made from old crackers. A skincare line. 

The Sanitation Foundation, the official nonprofit of the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) opened registration for its third biennial NYC Food Waste Fair, which will be a unique hybrid virtual/in-person program this year from June 14th to June 19th. The weeklong series of panels, keynote speeches, in-person workshops...

Food loss and waste come in all shapes and sizes: banana peels, salmon trimmings, spoiled produce, expired goods, not-expired but perceived-expired goods, and so much more. Of all food produced in the United States, 40% of it is thrown away and culminates in our landfills, where it rots and emits...

Restaurant kitchens during both World Wars operated under the gospel of the clean plate. "Don't Waste Any Food. Leave a Clean Dinner Plate," read one 1917 propaganda poster for the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) anti-waste campaign. We may not need to conserve food in order to send meals to troops overseas,...

Advocates for federal policy around food waste reduction and prevention have been working for years to move the needle in this space; meanwhile we get close to 2030, the year that EPA has called for a 50% cut in food waste, which the country is far from reaching. ReFED reports it...

A year ago, Markus Steilemann, chief executive of Germany-based Covestro, declared the company aimed to become “fully circular” — a goal that includes having its 30-plus manufacturing facilities worldwide powered by renewable energy sources and using recycled raw materials for the plastics and specialty materials it makes for automotive parts,...

Where human self-interest and free markets fail, we need legislation to enforce our obligations to the planet. The recent passage of the Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act shows the District has recognized the need to reduce the waste we generate. Organic waste management is an important element of this legislation, which can...

More than 30 million tons of food waste is generated by consumers each year, comprising the largest slice of all sources of food waste at 37%, according to ReFED.To combat this, the city of Santa Cruz has been hosting a series of webinars targeted at reducing food waste in the...

How does food waste affect New York and New Jersey? New York State generates 3.9 million tons of food waste every year; while New Jersey estimates that its residents throw out 1.3 million tons. Based on estimates from ReFED, the food wasted in New York and New Jersey has an...

Sustainability is a key priority for customers; in fact, a 2020 McKinsey study found that 67% of consumers consider the use of sustainable materials when they decide what brand to buy. To meet that need, many grocers have launched their own eco-friendly initiatives, and a foundational element is encouraging their suppliers to pursue sustainable...

The hard cost of wasted inventory in the grocery industry — known as shrink — is critical in addressing today's weighty climate change and food insecurity issues.

Leading the way. Countries as well as companies can be scored on their performance on ESG, for environmental, social and governance factors. Autocracy, repression and other ‘G’ risks in countries like Saudi Arabia and China, among many others (see No. 1, below), spurred us to look for practitioners of good government who...

Food waste is an ethical and an environmental problem. It’s also a business opportunity, ready for innovative solutions.

Apeel announced on Tuesday that it has acquired machine learning company ImpactVision to further its food waste reduction efforts. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Composting, packaging and circular economy-oriented organizations and trade groups have formed the U.S. Composting Infrastructure Coalition to advocate for expanding and increasing access to “robust programs that divert food waste, yard trimmings, and certified compostable packaging.”

Six trade groups and non-governmental organizations tied to organics recycling have formed the United States Composting Infrastructure Coalition. The new Washington-based coalitions says it will “support innovative and responsible waste reduction and recovery solutions like composting.”

Today, brands and manufacturers are faced with endless choices and tradeoffs when it comes to food packaging. Take the packaging options for cheese. From individual foil-wrapped wedges to a round of Camembert packaged in its own rind to plastic-wrapped singles, to resealable plastic bags of shredded cheese, the multitude of...

Not so very long ago, the United States lagged far behind Europe in terms of the widespread availability of food rescue apps. Fortunately, a heightened awareness of the world’s food waste problem has changed this and created opportunities for food rescue companies in the U.S.

Three ways to invest in upskilling workers for the post-COVID economy. Among the reasons for the post-pandemic labor shortage: a dissatisfaction with frontline, poorly paid work. New financing mechanisms are helping workers upgrade their skills, occupations and industries. Investors can deploy capital through “career impact bonds” and funds dedicated to bridging the...

Too Good To Go, the tech-for-good company powering the world’s #1 app for fighting food waste, today announces its national expansion to the West Coast.Over 200 food shops across the West Coast have already joined in on the fight against food waste. Too Good To Go’s first stop is the...

Congress has an unprecedented opportunity to better address childhood food insecurity while simultaneously advancing climate impact goals through food waste reduction in the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR)—a periodic update of laws that impacts the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children...

Professor Emily Broad Leib reads the statistics about the 1 billion people going hungry every year—and 1.3 billion tons of food going unused—and shakes her head.

Researchers at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark have developed a new biological method of extending the shelf life of food and fighting food waste. According to a blog post pubished this week on the university’s website, scientists have created a natural lactic acid bacterium that secretes nisin, an antimicrobial...

US-based light-emitting diode (LED) curing solutions provider Phoseon Technology has joined the global brands tier of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC).

Earth Day brought up renewed interest in the environment and the US goal to halve greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. Not surprisingly, there are a flock of upcoming conferences on food waste reduction.

By now, you know the stats: Each year, over one-third of our food produced is wasted.That translates to about $285 billion (or 54 million tons) worth of food each year in the US alone. That’s more than a quarter trillion dollars worth of food, produced from or with scarce inputs...

On April 23, President Biden signed into law a new food allergy bill that requires sesame be labeled on all packaged foods by January 1, 2023 and that food allergy research be given a higher priority by the federal government. Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), a leading non-governmental organization active in food...

It was no surprise that Hannaford Supermarkets chose April 20 — two days before Earth Day, and eight days in advance of the international Stop Food Waste Day this Wednesday — to announce a milestone in reducing food waste. The Scarborough-based company began working early, a decade ago, to shrink...

he average supermarket stocks 28,112 items and much of the fresh produce, packaged meats, cartons of milk and prepared meals lining store shelves ends up in a landfill."The waste is really mindboggling," admits Jennifer Molidor PhD, senior food campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity.

In March, Asheville City Council declared April to be Food Waste Reduction Month. Here is how you can celebrate Earth Day 2021 by participating in #AVLFoodWasteChallenge today!Food waste reduction matters because up to 40% of food in the US is wasted, contributing to negative environmental, economic and societal impacts. Much of...

I took the first bite with trepidation but was pleasantly surprised by the taste of a sandwich containing an item I routinely throw into the garbage bin — banana peels. This eye-opening (or rather palate-expanding) experience took place in a UC Davis classroom in the spring of 2019, where I...

How we got to that sad statistic, plus the small steps you can take that’ll actually make a difference.

Food waste is a national problem and cross-industry concern. Here are some steps you and your operation can take to start making a difference.

CHELMSFORD — In the produce aisle of the Hannaford supermarket here, stacks of gorgeous red Roma tomatoes are placed tenderly in tiered “pocket protector” trays to help reduce bruising. Behind the doors of the dairy refrigerators, leaky gallons of milk are pulled aside in a basket. The fat trimmings and...

We’ve all found ourselves clutching that lonely can of forgotten pantry beans, thinking about how far past the “best by” date we can conscientiously donate the uneaten food. You might throw them in the trash or (hopefully) send them to your local food bank, alongside pasta, boxed mac and cheese,...

Hazel Technologies, a Chicago-based startup that created a small drop-in packet to keep bananas and other produce from turning prematurely brown, is starting to produce a lot of green.The 6-year-old company announced Tuesday that it raised $70 million in a completed investment round, financing ambitions to grow Hazel into an...

What would happen if the United States enacted a comprehensive plan to combat food loss and waste? Now is the moment to ask, because the new U.S. administration is proving itself open to genuinely ambitious change. The answer? A cascade of benefits would follow, from economic savings to reduced hunger...

The national nonprofit ReFED recently completed an analysis of the types and causes of food waste and identified more than 40 solutions to help the U.S. reach the 2030 goal of a 50 percent reduction in food waste.

Washington has long been a global leader in zero-emissions energy production. It generates a whopping 81% of its power from wind, water and sunshine.  Now, state lawmakers and Gov. Jay Inslee finally have the chance to make Washington a hub of clean transportation, too — and not a moment too soon. 

Never before in San Diego County has the need for food assistance been greater than it is today. Families, kids, seniors, and members of the military and their families could all use extra resources as the ripple effects of the pandemic continue. Hundreds of thousands of people face hunger in...

The sheer scope of America’s food waste problem is stunning. According to a recent analysis by ReFED, a national nonprofit focused on the problem, 35 percent of our food goes uneaten. Food waste is the largest portion of this and is the single largest input to landfills. Here in America, uneaten...

In 1969, Earth Day sprung from the growing collective of student groups who were clamoring for public consciousness on deteriorating air and water quality in the United States. Now, more than a half-century later, young people are paving the way for a renewed fight against climate change and environmental destruction.This...

In the United States, 35 percent of the 229 million tons of available food went unsold or uneaten in 2019, according to ReFED. Full Harvest is working to solve the massive $2.5 billion food waste problem through the only B2B online marketplace for imperfect and surplus produce, connecting farmers to food...

Hazel Technologies, a Chicago-based startup that created a small drop-in packet to keep bananas and other produce from turning prematurely brown, is starting to produce a lot of green.The 6-year-old company announced Tuesday it raised $70 million in a completed investment round, financing ambitions to grow Hazel into an international food...

Sometime over the last month, you probably threw away a banana. Maybe it got too ripe. Or maybe your child didn’t like the one he was eating with the spotty, brown skin. You probably didn’t think much about tossing it. But all told, Americans throw away 5 billion bananas every...

Every year, anywhere between 30% and 40% of food produced for human consumption is wasted in the United States. Sometimes it fails to get harvested or it spoils during transport; other times it does not get sold at the supermarket or perhaps it gets forgotten at the back of someone's...

Several organizations banded together this week to release the US Food Loss & Waste Policy Action Plan, which calls on the Biden administration and Congress to take more action when it comes to fighting food waste. ReFed, the World Wildlife Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Harvard Food Law...

Sometime over the last month, you probably threw away a banana. Maybe it got too ripe. Or maybe your child didn’t like the one he was eating with the spotty, brown skin. You probably didn’t think much about tossing it. But all told, Americans throw away 5 billion bananas every...

The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine will host the first annual Maine Food Waste Solutions Summit from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, April 9, to build awareness of the growing food waste problem and to share solutions that promote economic development,...

An action plan to curb food loss and waste in the U.S. — pitched to Congress and the Biden administration this week by four organizations and supported by a host of cities, businesses and nonprofits — recommends funding infrastructure that keeps organic waste out of disposal sites by providing state- and city-level investments for...

The dairy purveyor forms an alliance with multiple distinguished partners to roll out its latest industry-shaking strategy

ReFED outlines seven key action areas to focus food waste reduction efforts over the next 10 years.

Two Good® Yogurt has teamed up with James Beard Award-winning Chef Marcus Samuelsson and Full Harvest this Earth Week to kick off a movement that highlights the critical role that food waste plays in our collective relationship with the climate and our stewardship of the planet. The partnership invites restaurants...

ReFED — the only national nonprofit focused exclusively on ending food loss and waste across the food system — announces the appointment of Shawn Shepherd as the organization’s first Director of Development and the promotion of Alexandria Coari, Director of Capital & Innovation, to Vice President of Capital, Innovation & Engagement. ...

When we waste food, we waste an enormous amount of water, land, and money, and we create global warming pollution—but reducing food waste in the U.S. is a solvable problem. With a renewed federal effort to rebuild our nation, now is the time to accelerate action and achieve our national...

Sometime over the last month, you probably threw away a banana. Maybe it got too ripe. Or maybe your child didn’t like the one he was eating with the spotty, brown skin. You probably didn’t think much about tossing it. But all told, Americans throw away 5 billion bananas every...

Those small pieces of plastic in your shopping cart add up to mountains of plastic waste. The U.S. generates 42 million metric tons of plastic waste each year and most ends up in oceans or landfills where it takes up to 500 years to break down. Your weekly shopping trip generates a significant...

Food waste problems have long challenged the U.S. where as much as 40% of food was going into the trash, rather than to feed families. Now the ReFED Insights Engine, a new online data center with a granular analysis of food waste (by sector, state, food type, cause, destination, and impact),...

Five ways that lenders can interrupt racism and provide restorative-justice capital in our communities. Can community development financial institutions be anti-racist? Many CDFIs, with their mission of expanding economic opportunity, have provided a financial lifeline to communities of color that have faced generations of discrimination.

Today, the Pacific Coast Collaborative (PCC) announces that Food Northwest -- organized to advance the ability of the food industry to produce and deliver wholesome, safe food from the Pacific Northwest to the world -- is the first industry association to join the West Coast Voluntary Agreement to Reduce Wasted Food to implement measurable action to...

The COVID-19 pandemic has already permanently shuttered 17 percent of restaurants nationwide, forced millions into unemployment, and left chefs, owners, and workers struggling to imagine what the future looks like in the near- and long-term. As states move from re-opening to returning to restrictions on dining and the industry continues to...

In the 40 years following their deliverance from slavery, the Israelites had to conserve and refrain from wasting any of their food as they traversed through the desert before reaching the promised land. Today, however, the polar opposite is occurring on a global scale. Food waste has become a monumental...

Since the world was introduced to the first meal kit over a decade ago, the industry has matured in size and familiarity, but it also has endured notable criticism surrounding packaging and its perceived impact on the environment. Leading sustainability for a meal kit company, I am acutely aware of...

From March 18-21 experts will discuss ways to change food and agriculture systems for the better as part of The Future of Food @ SXSW. The event, which is part of this year’s virtual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, is presented by The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation, with...

ReFED has released what it calls the “next generation” of its 2016 Roadmap: The Roadmap to 2030: Reducing U.S. Food Waste by 50%, which includes more recommendations to cut food waste and a more comprehensive analysis of the food waste problem than the first edition. With 42 ideas to reach this goal – 50%...

Hunger and food insecurity is a life-threatening issue that plagues millions of people nationwide — and the U.S. happens to be among the top 10 food-wasting countries globally. That said, grocers, supermarkets, and food distribution centers are some of the leading contributors to food waste, annually tossing 80 billion pounds of...

HelloFresh, the world’s leading meal kit provider, today announced that it has exceeded its sustainability plans for 2020 and will further expand its efforts for 2021 and beyond. The recently published Sustainability Report 2020 highlights key achievements, in line with the “Sustainable Development Goals” defined by the United Nations.

Starting in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shocked the global economy and brought sweeping changes to the United States. The waste and recycling industry’s essential public health role meant it had to operate throughout, even as thousands of workers were affected by the virus.

The nonprofit ReFED recently launched a new waste reduction plan, along with a suite of solutions and digital tools, that may help the food industry make a bigger impact on reducing waste.

SnackFutures, the Mondelēz International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ) innovation and venture hub, today announced its membership to the Upcycled Food Association (UFA), a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing food waste by growing the upcycled economy.SnackFutures was created in 2018 as a growth driver for Mondelēz International with a focus on well-being snacks around...

American Rescue Plan brings policy support – and $1.9 trillion – to the bottom-up reconstruction. The legislation’s narrative of bottom-up prosperity for the post-COVID recovery resonates with a core thesis of impact finance: Putting more wealth and income into the hands of lower-income people is good business. The $1.9 billion rescue...

Food waste is a systemwide problem, and solving it will require a systemwide response. To help guide action across the food supply chain, ReFED introduced two new resources that support action around our national goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030.

A report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) anticipates that, if left unchecked, 2030 will see a total of 2.1 billion tons of food wasted — in stark contrast with the UN’s goal to cut food waste in half by the same year.According to the USDA, between 30 and 40...

The Coronado High School Emerald Keepers Club “broke ground” on the new school garden and composting facility at the newly reestablished Angela’s Garden on Village Elementary School grounds Saturday. The team assembled and started their first two composting piles under the guidance of Coronado Master Composter Laura Wilkinson.

In the United States, 35% of all food goes unsold or uneaten – and most of that ends up in the trash. The impact of food waste on our climate is enormous since food that is never eaten still requires resources to grow, harvest, transport, cool, cook, or otherwise prepare....

Seebo’s new technology offers food companies a way to pinpoint pesky production losses that aren’t readily apparent to the human eye. Shaving off a few production losses here and there may sound trivial, but considering the volume that some of its existing clients like General Mills and Mondelez are churning...

There’s a hard-to-maintain balancing act at the heart of attempts to limit food waste. Consumers like to have plenty of food on hand at home and in stores. The obvious solution is to over-order, but that’s one reason why those locations account for half of all food waste in the...

It may sound surprising, but food waste is problematic to the environment. The easy solution—tossing out that wilted head of lettuce or stale loaf of bread—can lead to dangerous consequences.Decomposing food in the landfill releases methane gas. This is serious. As a greenhouse gas, methane is 28 times more efficient...

According to the nonprofit ReFED, more than a third of all food grown for human consumption in the United States is wasted by U.S. consumers. That is about $408 billion worth of food, grown on 18% of U.S. farmland with 4 trillion tons of water. The report also says that...

The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation is proud to present The Future of Food @ SXSW, March 18-21, during SXSW Online 2021.Join leading voices working towards a better food future, like Danielle Neirenberg of Food Tank, Joi Chevalier of The Cook’s Nook and Naturally Austin, Riana Lynn of Journey...

Today, days after President Joe Biden declared Texas a state of emergency, OHUB, 100 Black Angels & Allies Fund, HR&A Advisors, Capital Factory, The City of Austin, Huston-Tillotson University, NexGenT and DivInc announce a collaboration to launch an “OHUB x Austin Equity District” as an intentional plan to accelerate racial equity...

I have a gross confession: Last week, when I cleaned out my fridge for the first time in I’d-rather-not-say-how-long, I found some slimy spinach, a jar of salsa gone moldy, the soured dregs of a pint of yogurt and a ball of leftover cookie dough I forgot to bake. All...

In our latest episode of NothingWasted!, we bring you a dynamic session from WasteExpo Together Online: “Rising Leaders Talk Trash.”The discussion includes innovators and up-and-coming leaders from the Waste360 40 Under 40 winners, who provided their perspectives about where the industry is heading. The speakers were: Alexandria Coari, Capital & Innovation Director,...

Midwestern regional grocer Meijer is on track to integrate Flashfood’s food waste reduction app into all of its stores by the end of 2021 after facing delays with the rollout due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company said in a press release on Thursday.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based grocery retailer Meijer is expanding its Flashfood waste reduction program, planning to complete implementation across all 256 supercenters and grocery stores this year. The program allows customers to use an app to purchase food nearing its sell-by date at up to 50% off, thereby reducing in-store food...

The Upcycled Standard, developed by the Upcycled Food Association, is designed to reduce food waste by promoting the upcycled food economy. Upcycled products use ingredients that have full nutritional value and are safe but for various reasons would have gone to waste. Operators that grow, produce, manufacture, process, and trade...

The Upcycled Standard, developed by the Upcycled Food Association, is designed to reduce food waste by promoting the upcycled food economy. Upcycled products use ingredients that have full nutritional value and are safe but for various reasons would have gone to waste. Operators that grow, produce, manufacture, process, and trade...

Progress in recycling and composting trends may not be enough to stop landfill expansion. 

Recycling market development and food waste are among many issues stakeholders hope will receive renewed federal engagement, despite limited attention in the president's agenda to date.

A column highlighting climate-related studies, innovations, books, cultural events and other developments from the global warming frontier.

A new online Insights Engine launched by ReFed, a national nonprofit focused on ending food loss and waste across the food system, has revealed that the total amount of food waste per capita has decreased two percent over the last three years.While this demonstrates that food waste reduction efforts are starting...

A new online Insights Engine launched by ReFed, a national nonprofit focused on ending food loss and waste across the food system, has revealed that the total amount of food waste per capita has decreased two percent over the last three years.

In Roadmap to 2030and Insights Engine, the nonprofit ReFED analyzes seven actions in the food supply chain, 40 food waste reduction solutions and more than 700 organizations working to reduce food waste. ReFED projects the $14 billion annual investment could yield $73 billion – a five-to-one return.

It's one of the biggest events in the United States - for food waste.Falling just behind Thanksgiving, Super Bowl spending averages around $80 per person annually, according to the National Retail Association. The majority of that spending, 77%, is on food and beverage. Despite stay-at-home orders and social distancing, Americans...

Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) is slated to begin the fourth and final expansion of its curbside composting program this month, bringing the total number of Austin, Texas, residents with access to the organics diversion service to over 200,000 households.

Our food-waste problem is happening pretty much everywhere in the U.S., including on farms, in supermarkets, and at restaurants. But it’s also happening in our homes. “All those fridge clean-outs and scraped plates add up,” Dana Gunders, executive director of ReFed, a national nonprofit dedicated to fighting food waste, tells SELF....

A new website from the nonprofit ReFed shares the data in detail and maps out potential solutions. At restaurants, for instance, because portions are typically so large that diners leave food on the plate, shrinking portions could divert 2.4 million tons of waste a year, avoiding 11.5 million tons of CO2 emissions...

The total amount of food wasted in the U.S. has leveled off since 2016, while food waste per capita has decreased 2 percent over the last three years, according to ReFED’s newly launched data hub, the Insights Engine. But more must be done to meet the country’s goal of cutting food...

The report by ReFED, the only national nonprofit working to end food waste, found that 35% of food, or 80.6 million tons, went uneaten or unsold in the United States in 2019 — an estimated loss of $408 billion. It also significantly contributed to greenhouse gas emissions due to the energy that...

WE HAVE ONE WORD FOR YOU. JUST ONE WORD: Batteries.Let's start in the U.S. President Joe Biden is moving quickly to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles and jump-start a domestic industry. Days after taking office, he signed an executive order to use American-made, union-built, zero-emission cars, vans and trucks to ferry...

During a panel discussion organized by Food Tank and the Refresh Working Group, experts shared the ways that technology can make supply chains more transparent while supporting food access and sustainability.Moderated by Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg, and journalist Chloe Sorvino of Forbes, the event is part of a weeklong series about the...

Food Tank, in collaboration with the Refresh Working Group, is introducing a roadmap for policymakers around best practices in navigating the intersection of food and technology. Download the report HERE.  

Hellmann's will make its first Super Bowl appearance with a commercial providing tips on how to avoid wasting food at home. The Unilever mayonnaise brand plans to air a 30-second spot starring comedian Amy Schumer, who urges people to "make taste, not waste," during the third commercial break in the...

Imagine a farm three-quarters the size of California that requires the amount of water used in Idaho and Texas combined. Instead of eating the food produced on this farm, however, it’s loaded onto a semitruck every 20 seconds and brought straight to a landfill.This, according to Dana Gunders, executive director...

Unilever brand enlists Amy Schumer and Academy Award-winning director Peter Farrelly behind its campaign to eliminate food waste

Food and beverage products featuring upcycled ingredients may qualify for the newly approved Upcycled Certification Standard. Slated to initially roll out in the United States in the next few months, the standard is intended to help consumers identify products that help reduce food waste.

United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) has pledged to a host of new sustainability targets it aims to reach by the year 2030, including donating a quarter of a billion pounds of food, reaching zero landfill waste from its distribution centers, meeting a 30% reduction in distribution center energy intensity and...

Forty percent of all food produced in the US goes uneaten. Wasted food is a major contributor to multiple environmental and social problems that we face today – and most of this waste is happening right under our noses! ReFED estimates US households alone waste 76 billion pounds of food...

Dana Gunders serves as ReFED’s Executive Director. Dana is a national expert and one of the first to bring to light just how much food is wasted across the country. For almost a decade, she was a Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). She then launched Next...

One of the most exciting trends to watch for in the sustainable waste management sphere in 2021 is the rise of the private organics hauler. Call them a hauler, a composter, a waste management provider, a champion of soil; it doesn’t matter. These often small, local or regional-serving businesses have...

We look at Jan. 1 as a new chapter, a time to start fresh. However, if you find the idea of drafting up a new list of New Year’s resolutions a bit too abstract, the state Department of Environmental Conservation's 30-day wasted food challenge might be a fit, focusing on...

One-third of the world’s food is wasted, according to the United Nations (UN). That number jumps to 40 percent in the United States—enough to feed 2 billion people.Uneaten food has dire consequences for the planet: decomposing waste releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas. According to the UN, if food waste was its own country, it would...

The Wonderful Co., Los Angeles, is offering up to $1 million for a solution to the 50,000 tons of pomegranate husks generated each year for the production of Pom Wonderful juice.

Every December marks the end of the calendar and another year of egregious food waste in the United States. The holidays are an annual reminder to appreciate what we have — so why does this notion not extend to food?

There's a pervasive bit of mythology about food waste that it'll just turn into compost, even in a landfill. It's not true, but Amanda Weeks is used to the rumour. "Through some kind of magical thinking, people feel that their garbage is breaking down or getting recycled," she says, "and...

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the renewal of the joint agency formal agreement including the Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative. The agreement reaffirms the agencies' commitment to improve coordination and communication efforts to better educate Americans on...

The fresh produce waste challenge spans the entire supply chain.While data from ReFED, a nonprofit committed to reducing U.S. food waste, indicates that 43 percent of the waste tonnage occurs at the consumer level, companies across the food supply chain create 57 percent of the waste.Much of the problem can...

ReFED, a nonprofit committed to reducing U.S. food waste, estimates 52 million tons of food are sent to U.S. landfills annually. Another 10 million tons are discarded or left unharvested on farms.The result is $218 billion spent on growing, processing, transporting, and disposing of food that is never eaten.

The Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with ReFED in the search for a Director of Development.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that a third of the world’s food is wasted every year. Forests are cleared, fuel is burnt and packaging in produced just to provide food which is thrown away. Meanwhile, rotting food in landfills releases more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.As a result,...

Phood, the New York City-based startup that uses a combination of weight scales, computer vision and AI to help foodservice operators reduce food waste, announced today that it has raised a $2 million Seed round of financing. The round was led by New Stack Ventures and Story Ventures. This brings...

ReFed today made two big announcements around its continued fight against food loss and waste. The U.S.-based nonprofit has launched a $10 million fundraising campaign to support projects and initiatives that reduce waste in the supply chain. Additionally, ReFed will release an online hub for food waste data and insights next...

Food is the single largest line item on a food business’ profit and loss statement, yet its waste is largely unaddressed.

About 40% of wasted food is thrown out at consumer-facing businesses, and while many of them—restaurants and others—say food donation is a top priority, these early adopters are not the majority. But Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (RLC) has brought 300 businesses on board in 16 cities to help them ensure that...

Limited access to processing facilities is a top contributor to food waste, and a major hurdle that blocks mid-sized food and beverage businesses from scaling to the next level – two challenges that startup Matriark Foods is hoping to bypass with a unique business model that combines upcycling with a...

A lesson in understanding how much food is wasted in America — and what can be done about it.

White Pony Express (WPE) of Contra Costa County, California is rescuing food and diverting it to residents in need. With additional funding from ReFED’s COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund, they are working to expand their current operations and create new initiatives.

We are providing access to all the sessions from Smart Kitchen Summit 2020 to Spoon Plus subscribers!This post includes all the sessions from Smart Kitchen Summit Day Two.

The food industry is experiencing unprecedented change and disruption as we enter a new normal. Learn more at Food Edge Digital 2020, New England's leading food innovation summit, to connect with leaders in the food industry, learn about the latest trends, and gain actionable insights for business adaptation and success....

After a sharp increase in food waste following the outbreak of COVID-19, Dana Gunders, Executive Director of ReFED finds that the rate of food waste in the United States may be steadying.

The confectionery giant is working with software company Alloy to improve the efficiency of its operations by cutting down on overstock and out of stock items.

Partnership for a Healthier America and the Produce Marketing Association are expanding their COVID-19 Fresh Food Fund in a duel effort to ease food insecurity exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and create a new market for produce that might otherwise be wasted.

World Food Day, established by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is celebrated every year on October 16 since 1979. World Food Day 2020 likewise denotes the 75th anniversary of FAO with the theme “Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Our actions are our future“.

Today on Point 01, Dana Gunders, Executive Director of ReFED, joins Aaron to discuss the complexity of food waste. Dana published the revolutionary report “Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40% of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill” and from there began her journey as the "the...

When Ilene Isaacs started, she didn’t really know what food rescue was; only that she wanted to help eradicate hunger. Now she’s an anti-hunger advocate with 18 years’ experience and 250 agencies relying on her work.

Tackling the food waste topic in a 30-minute panel is something of an impossible undertaking, given the size of the problem. That’s why at Day 2 of Smart Kitchen Summit 2020, myself, Apeel Sciences’ CEO James Rogers, Chiara Cecchini of the Future Food Institute, and Alexandria Coari of ReFED zeroed in...

The confectionery giant is working with software company Alloy to improve the efficiency of its operations by cutting down on overstock and out-of-stock items.

Wow, what a first day at Smart Kitchen Summit. We learned that the recipe is alive and well (sorry, Tyler Florence), hacked together new kitchen products with Scott Heimendinger and saw a live debut of a new pizza robot, not to mention all the great in-person meetings, breakout sessions, vendor demos...

Entrepreneurs are taking on food waste across the world in some truly creative ways — turning what many consider garbage into delicious — and nutritious — products. 

Heading into fall, this batch of career updates from the worlds of sustainability and business is somewhat top-heavy. It's not necessarily that the game of musical chairs has intensified in the C-suite, but you'll note major executive moves at big apparel, food, energy, finance and technology corporations, some of which...

If we want to reduce food waste, we need consumer-led solutions — which can be sparked by retailers. Brands, manufacturers and other food system actors get their message through to consumers if retailers open the door for them.

Consumers wasted more food in 2017 than ever before, according to a Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting review of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data. They wasted about 41 million tons of food, making up 15 percent of trash thrown out. 

 The Wonderful Company, a global company dedicated to harvesting health and happiness around the world through its iconic consumer brands, announced the launch of the Wonderful Innovation Challenge. Offering up to $1 million in funding and development resources to innovators, the competition seeks to discover economic and environmentally friendly pilot ready...

Campaigners against food waste say the pandemic has made some consumers in rich countries look at how much food they bin.

The Upcycled Food Association (UFA) announces its 100th Member to join since the nonprofit was formed less than a year ago: DOLE Packaged Foods, LLC. This marks the first global, consumer-facing company to become a member of UFA, an organization with the mission of reducing food waste through food upcycling....

The Wonderful Company, a global company dedicated to harvesting health and happiness around the world through its iconic consumer brands, announced the launch of the Wonderful Innovation Challenge. Offering up to $1 million in funding and development resources to innovators, the competition seeks to discover economic and environmentally friendly pilot...

When the coronavirus pandemic forced Rohini Singh to work from her house, she realized the grocery bill was likely to rise since her family of three would be mostly eating at home. She also didn't want to waste food, with shelves in some supermarkets emptying in the early days of...

The Wonderful Company is offering up to $1 million in funding and development resources to innovators that can discover economic and environmentally friendly pilot ready solutions for pomegranate husks.

 A California juice company is offering $1 million in funding and development resources for a plan to do something about the 50,000 tons of pomegranate husks the firm disposes of each year.

Over one-third of food in the U.S. is lost or wasted — about $161 billion worth every year — a problem that has only been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. As Tuesday marks the first annual International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, created last year by the United Nations, experts are encouraging...

Over one-third of food in the U.S. is lost or wasted — about $161 billion worth every year — a problem that has only been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. As Tuesday marks the first annual International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, created last year by the United Nations, experts are encouraging...

Aloha Harvest, a Hawaii-based nonprofit, is diverting food that would otherwise be wasted to combat food insecurity during COVID-19.Roughly one in five Hawaii residents are food insecure, according to U.S. census data collected in July 2020.  And since the pandemic began more than 250,000 Hawaii residents have filed for unemployment, further contributing to food...

The Wonderful Company announced the launch of the Wonderful Innovation Challenge. Offering up to $1 million in funding and development resources to innovators, the competition seeks to discover economic and environmentally friendly pilot ready solutions for the 50,000 tons of pomegranate husks generated each year by juicing POM Wonderful pomegranates....

The Wonderful Company, best known for its pomegranate juices, is ready to infuse some cash into creative reuses of its pomegranate biomass.  Today, the company launched its Wonderful Innovation Challenge. The competition will offer “up to $1 million” in funding and development resources to those with “pilot ready solutions for the...

The Wonderful Company announced Monday it is offering up to $1 million in funding and resources to those who come up with economic and environmentally-friendly solutions for the 50,000 tons of pomegranate husks generated by the company annually.The nonprofit ReFED is serving as strategic advisor and managing partner for the...

This new partnership is a voluntary coalition. Companies will produce annual reports on their food waste, which they are encouraged to share publicly on the Food Waste Atlas website, The Washington Post reported.However, this pledge is not enforceable. Even if the companies comply, they will only make a small dent...

The need to reduce food waste has escalated as an issue during COVID-19. In response to current realities, consumers have raced to grocery stores to stockpile food, often buying in surplus. Now, we’re seeing food’s perishability firsthand.This issue, in part, concerns packaging. Many consumers are taking precautions against the virus...

After a sharp increase in food waste following the outbreak of COVID-19, Dana Gunders, Executive Director of ReFED finds that the rate of food waste in the United States may be steadying.Prior to the pandemic, ReFED, a nonprofit committed to reducing food waste, found that 63 million tons of food goes to...

When it comes to food waste, we can all do a better job of finishing the groceries we buy, especially fresh produce. However, food manufacturers are also big contributors to the problem, which is why almost 200 brands made a pledge to cut their food waste in half in the next decade....

When it comes to food waste, we can all do a better job of finishing the groceries we buy, especially fresh produce. However, food manufacturers are also big contributors to the problem, which is why almost 200 brands made a pledge to cut their food waste in half in the next decade....

Entrepreneurs are taking on food waste across the world in some truly creative ways—turning what many consider garbage into delicious—and nutritious—products. Their efforts are part of a growing trend to battle one of the world’s most pressing environmental and agricultural problems. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, 1.3 billion...

Imagine a protein-packed snack made from leftover chicken bits. Tea made from avocado pits. Or seasoning your burger with extracts derived from mushroom stems instead of salt. It may sound funky, but it could be part of the future of food. Societies around the world have always found innovative ways to...

There's a time and a place for granola bars, but it isn't at lunch. Yes, we know how convenient it is to quickly munch one in between folding laundry, setting up the next Zoom kindergarten session, and finishing up that sales report. The midday meal was often overlooked before the coronavirus pandemic turned our...

There's a time and a place for granola bars, but it isn't at lunch. Yes, we know how convenient it is to quickly munch one in between folding laundry, setting up the next Zoom kindergarten session, and finishing up that sales report. The midday meal was often overlooked before the coronavirus pandemic turned our...

Nearly 200 food suppliers, including some of the largest producers in the world, have pledged to cut their food waste in half by 2030.The companies, which make such products as Rice Krispies cereal, Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Spam, have joined the 10x20x30 initiative, a global effort to slash the staggering amount...

The companies, who make such products as Rice Krispies cereal, Hellmann's mayonnaise and Spam, have joined the 10x20x30 initiative, a global effort to reduce the amount of food that is discarded every year, the World Resources Institute, which supports the program, announced Wednesday. The big food makers - a list...

The food waste agreement is anchored by ReFED, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP.) PCC announced its food waste reduction target in 2018 and the new voluntary effort is meant to bolster progress towards the end-of-decade deadline, the same target established by the U.S. EPA....

A lesson in understanding how much food is wasted in America — and what can be done about it.

When COVID-19 hit the world early this year, buffets were temporarily shut down. You can imagine why: rows and rows of food stations that bring people in close proximity to each other. Strangers sharing serving spoons, handles, and utensils. The CDC made it clear that restaurants had to avoid any self-serving dining...

Panelists at the Food Recovery Forum's session, "Designing Solutions to Fight Food Waste and Hunger During COVID and Beyond" discussed what it will take to begin taking items destined for the landfill and feed those who face food insecurity. The global COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue.“In the wake of...

Waste Expo Together Online’s “Rising Leaders Talk Trash” session on Sept. 14 featured a panel of next generation leaders to discuss their perspective on where the waste industry is headed. The session was moderated by Big Truck Rental President Zach Martin.Including speakers Josh Mann, public sector solutions manager for Waste Management Inc.; Turner...

What emerging strategies have been employed to tackle food waste during the pandemic, and how can we scale these strategies in the future?When the coronavirus pandemic first disrupted food supply chains earlier this year, huge amounts of animals and produce raised for human consumption were lost. But the food system...

The Pacific Coast Collaborative (PCC) announces plans to lead a US-based public-private partnership - one of the largest in the world - to address wasted food. Together with ReFED, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and WRAP, the PCC is calling on food retailers and their supply chain partners and food manufacturers to join the West Coast Voluntary...

Global demand for meat, dairy, and egg products continues to increase as the world’s population grows and improving economic conditions allow for better diets and reduced world hunger. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations projects increases in world meat and dairy production over the next decade of 13 percent...

In her role as Capital & Innovation Director at ReFED, Alexandria (Alex) Coari catalyzes critical funding to fight food waste.In 2020, as a result of her effective leadership and creative innovation, Coari was named as a Waste360 40 Under 40 award recipient. She spoke to Waste360 about her career, and how ReFED brings together nonprofit...

The topic of food waste has grown into a significant, high-profile issue over the past decade, with more attention paid to the problem as a part of the larger climate change conversation. Volume foodservice like hotels, catering, restaurants and cruise ships have made significant progress through a more cautious assessment...

Every year, roughly 63 million tons of food waste is sent to landfill in America, and with costs of around $218 billion to grow, process, transport, and subsequently dispose of that organic produce, it’s an expensive habit that needs to change. While the biggest contributor to these figures is the...

Dreaming Out Loud, Inc. is working to recover over 226,000 kilograms of food with support from ReFED’s COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund. In the wake of COVID-19, the nonprofit is using recovered food to alleviate hunger and unemployment in Wards 7 and 8 of Washington D.C.

But that’s the only placeAccording to an article on We Forum, the pandemic has created tons more of food waste than we are hearing about:Mountains of produce, including eggs, milk and onions, are going to waste as the COVID-19 pandemic shutters restaurants, restricts transport, limits what workers are able to do...

September is Hunger Action Month. In response, Whole Foods Market has launched Nourishing Our Neighborhoods, a program created to expand capacity and capability for community-based food rescue organizations to move food from where it’s available to where it’s needed most.

To kick off Hunger Action Month, Whole Foods Market announces Nourishing our Neighborhoods, a program created to expand capacity and capability for community-based food rescue organizations to move food from where it’s available to where it’s needed most.

We all have a role to play in reducing food waste. While there are many changes that could be made across the supply chain to minimize waste, households are a critical piece of the pie. In ReFED’s 2016 Roadmap to Reduce Food Waste by 20 Percent, the #1 most cost-effective strategy cited...

Remember all those articles from the Beforetimes about how we wasted disgusting quantities of food because we bought stuff and then shoved it to the back of the fridge or a cabinet and then forgot about it until after it had expired and started to smell? Well, good news, my fellow Americans:...

To kick off Hunger Action Month, Whole Foods Market announced Nourishing our Neighborhoods, a program created to expand capacity and capability for community-based food rescue organizations to move food from where it’s available to where it’s needed most.

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn’t end there.While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic’s early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America’s food...

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn't end there.While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic's early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America's food...

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn’t end there.While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic’s early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America’s food...

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn't end there. While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic's early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America's...

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn't end there.While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic's early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America's food...

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn't end there.While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic's early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America's food...

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn't end there.While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic's early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America's food...

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn't end there.While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic's early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America's food...

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn't end there.While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic's early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America's food...

This spring, horrified Americans watched farmers dump milk and plow under vegetables, but the story of food waste and the novel coronavirus didn't end there.While farm-level dumping caused outrage in the pandemic's early days, during normal times it was households that were responsible for a huge chunk of America's food...

Reducing food waste while fighting hunger is too huge a task for any one entity, or even a single, large sector. To quantify the problem: historically 40 million Americans face hunger, while nearly 40% of all food goes to waste. Movements to try and reverse the trend require deep collaboration...

In this insightful episode of NothingWasted!, we chat with Alex Coari, director of Capital & Innovation, ReFED (and also one of Waste360’s 40 Under 40 winners for 2020!).ReFED is a multi-stakeholder nonprofit, powered by a network of the nation’s leading business, nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders committed to reducing U.S. food waste.We...

Organic waste bans are going into place because food waste is a huge driver of climate change. Additionally, consumers are now paying attention to the brands they’re buying from.

Second Servings of Houston is working simultaneously to fight hunger and end food waste in Houston, Texas. With help from ReFED’s COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund, they are expanding their work to help those impacted by COVID-19.   

Clint Parry looked through every part of his kitchen during the stay-at-home period in Detroit, Michigan. He was looking for different foods and leftovers to put together meals.The 33-year-old man is one of many people around the world who has cut food spending and waste during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say if these new behaviors...

Clint Parry ransacked every kitchen cupboard and scoured all corners of his fridge during lockdown in Detroit, hunting for lost ingredients and leftovers to whip up meals.The 33-year-old is one of many people across the world to have embraced thriftiness and cut down on food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic,...

Clint Parry ransacked every kitchen cupboard and scoured all corners of his fridge during lockdown in Detroit, hunting for lost ingredients and leftovers to whip up meals.The 33-year-old is one of many people across the world to have embraced thriftiness and cut down on food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic,...

Things are about to get ugly.A few years ago, the “ugly produce” movement took hold, encouraging consumers to buy less-than-perfect fruits and veggies to cut down on food waste at farms and packing houses.Mail subscription services offered boxes filled with forked carrots and bruised apples, and activists urged grocery stores...

In a recent webinar hosted by the Climate Collaborative, ReFED Executive Director Dana Gunders noted that there is a new element of predictability with regard to consumer habits that is already leading to less food waste, and as shutdowns continue these habits will only become more ingrained.

ReFED’s day-to-day focus has always been to accelerate actions to prevent food waste, while seeing that good food gets to those who may otherwise go hungry. Little did the organization know, until a few months ago, that COVID-19 would hit, and that the food insecure population would spike from 40...

Considering the wide range and more than 19 years of work Danielle Nierenberg has put into researching food and agricultural innovations, her receiving the 2020 Julia Child Award is timely.The accolade, given to “an individual or team who has made a profound and significant difference in the way America cooks, eats, and...

Some of the most gut-wrenching images of disrupted supply chains from the pandemic have been the mounds of food that have gone to waste. A product the size of a sugar packet could be part of the solution.Hazel Technologies makes a biodegradable item that extends the shelf life of produce —...

The women at the helm of Veritable Vegetable talk about how COVID has reinforced their investment in building a shorter, more transparent supply chain that supports farmers and the environment.

Even before the pandemic, Americans wasted about 40% of the food we produced, or about $218 billion worth each year. Now a report from the nonprofit ReFED shows the pandemic has worsened the problem of food waste – but may also lead to a smarter, more nimble food supply.The COVID-19...

The coronavirus pandemic has transformed grocery shopping. Grocery sales have increased significantly since the onset of the pandemic, and the convenience and safety of online grocery and delivery companies have contributed to a historical boom.

House Democrats want Americans to stop throwing away so much gosh darn food.In a 538-page tome released last month on what the country should do to mitigate climate change, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis called on the government to reduce the nation’s 80-billion-pound, $161 billion food waste footprint. The group cited data from the...

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank hopes to use a recently awarded $100,000 grant to continue its food rescue efforts, which have already saved nearly 10 million pounds of food since the COVID-19 crisis began in March.

Consumers appreciate the importance of reducing food waste but often don’t understand their role in solving it, according to ReFED, a national network of business, nonprofit and government leaders committed to solving the $161 billion food waste problem in the U.S. The problem is so huge that the federal government...

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is one of the largest charitable food rescue organizations in Pennsylvania, rescuing nearly 10 million pounds of food just since March 2020, when the COVID-19 crisis took hold in central Pennsylvania.

On average, you toss out 400 pounds of food a year. But there are things you, the government and the private sector can do about it. 

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is one of the largest charitable food rescue organizations in Pennsylvania, rescuing nearly 10 million pounds of food just since March 2020, when the COVID-19 crisis took hold in central PA.To honor that commitment to food rescue, the ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solution Fund recently...

Today, ReFED – a national nonprofit organization working to advance solutions to reduce food waste – announced that its Board of Directors has elected Nicola Dixon as the new Board Chair. Dixon, who is the Executive Director of the General Mills Foundation, succeeds ReFED Founder and inaugural Board Chair Jesse Fink, who...

"Dump potatoes in the rivers … Slaughter the pigs and bury them, and let the putrescence drip down into the earth," John Steinbeck wrote in "The Grapes of Wrath." "There is a failure here that topples all our success."Steinbeck's lament against food waste is eerily relevant today, as supply-chain disruptions...

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is one of the largest charitable food rescue organizations in Pennsylvania, rescuing nearly 10 million pounds of food just since March 2020, when the COVID-19 crisis took hold in central PA.To honor that commitment to food rescue, the ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solution Fund recently...

The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank has received a grant of $100,000 from the ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solution Fund.Their initial investment was $50,000 but was doubled after ReFED learned about the innovate ways the food bank is rescuing and distributing food across 27 counties.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, farmer Blake Place and her husband, Andrew, faced a problem: the goats on their upstate New York farm were still producing 100 gallons of milk a day, but the restaurants and creameries they sold to had shut down. With the markets for their goat cheese...

Whether it was stopping on the side of the road to pick wild plums or gathering apples from a neighborhood tree, most of us have gleaned at least once in our lives. Now, this practice of gathering leftover produce throughout the community is finding new purpose as a source of...

Dana Gunders, the executive director at ReFED, a national nonprofit organization that works to end food waste, said Vermont is leading the way in addressing the environmental consequences of food waste.

Gleaning is a hallowed agricultural tradition, traditionally defined as gathering anything left over after a harvest. In this country, it has long been the province of religious groups inspired by the ancient Jewish story of Ruth, written at a time when gleaning was still a protected right for the poor. In...

July is here, and with it comes mandatory composting for all Vermonters. This hour: we’re talking about the new mandatory composting law that went into effect July 1st. We’ll check in with the department of environmental conservation, answer your questions about how to start composting, whether it's through a third...

Full Harvest(R), the business-to-business online marketplace for surplus and imperfect produce, announced it has been selected by Salesforce and the Curry Family’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation on an initiative to help support farmers and food insecure families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Global Smart Food Logistics Market is expected to register a CAGR of 15% over the forecast period (2020 – 2025). Smart Food ecosystem is increasingly improving due to constituents in the value chain, integrating technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) throughout.

Full Harvest(R), the first business-to-business online marketplace for surplus and imperfect produce, today announced it has been selected by Salesforce and the Curry Family’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation on an initiative to help support farmers and food insecure families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Mountains of produce, including eggs, milk and onions, are going to waste as the COVID-19 pandemic shutters restaurants, restricts transport, limits what workers are able to do and disrupts supply chains. And as that food decays, it releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

The Livingston County Farm Bureau partnered with Natural Upcycling, Craigs Station Creamery and Dairy Farmers of America to offer the free community milk distribution in honor of World Milk Day and June Dairy month.

"Goodr sources all of our produce directly from farmers on a daily basis, and it's great. So, we've been able to work with them. We have won a grant from a company called ReFED which allows us to actually recovery excess food from farmers and businesses at a low cost...

You might have been eating or creating “upcycled food,” but it wasn’t until very recently that the term was actually, officially defined. Last month, a special task force convened by Upcycled Food Association, an organization made of academic, nonprofit and industry stakeholders — including researchers from Drexel University — released an...

"Upcycling" is a term that many readers will recognize, but it's typically used in the context of things – old clothing transformed into new styles, art projects that incorporate old materials, tech products that have been refurbished. It can, however, be used to describe food, and what happens when cooks come up...

Today we are excited to announce a new collaboration with Feeding America®, the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, to deliver consumable food and beverages to food banks across the country instead of disposing of it in landfills.

What image comes to mind when you picture the word “natural?” Wide open spaces? Pristine forests? Take that same word, “natural,” and put it on a bag of chips in the grocery store. Now what do you picture? For me, “natural” evokes visions of kettle chips instead of regular potato...

Back in May, our partners at ReFED — a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing solutions to food waste — announced their COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund, an initiative to fund organizations fighting the most immediate food waste needs during the crisis by rescuing food and providing it to hunger relief organizations and communities...

Covid-19 has raised awareness among the public about food waste, while also stalling city and state efforts to build and expand composting programs.

Today we are excited to announce a new collaboration with Feeding America®, the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, to deliver consumable food and beverages to food banks across the country instead of disposing of it in landfills.

As restaurants and institutions were forced to shut down or drastically curtail their operations, and the financial repercussions spread to the rest of the economy, many Americans found themselves out of a job and struggling to pay for basic necessities such as rent and food. In April, Feeding America, a...

Upcycled food is an officially defined term, which advocates say will encourage broader consumer and industry support for products that help reduce food waste. Upcycling — transforming ingredients that would have been wasted into edible food products — has been gaining ground in alternative food movements for several years but never had...

There is no doubt that COVID-19 is exposing huge cracks in the global food system—from labour shortages and disruptions in distribution to the euthanisation of millions of livestock and massive amounts of food waste. The virus is also showing the deep links between human health, food, and the environment. This...

Despite a work-from-home white-collar workforce and record-breaking U.S. unemployment claims, efforts to improve environmental, social and governance policies in business are charging ahead in the corporate and nonprofit communities. 

Broken supply chains have left farmers across the globe with mounds of food waste. Facing the prospect of plowing over fields and euthanizing pigs, some of these farmers — like Clint and Shelly Pinkelman — are mitigating their losses by going straight to consumers.

In honor of June 1 being “World Milk Day” the Livingston County Farm Bureau came together with Natural Upcycling, Craigs Station Creamery and Dairy Farmers of America to organize the event. With money to pay for the milk, pasteurization and other costs coming from a $50,000 grant that Natural Upcycling...

Broken supply chains have left farmers across the globe with mounds of food waste. Facing the prospect of plowing over fields and euthanizing pigs, some of these farmers — like Clint and Shelly Pinkelman — are mitigating their losses by going straight to consumers.

Large companies in certain industries are doing fine during the pandemic — entertainment streaming services, general merchandisers and grocers are enjoying a boost in sales, at least for the short term. But many small and midsize businesses are shrinking in their shadows.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it many challenges for food producers—and a lot of waste in light of the fact that schools, restaurants, and other institutions that normally purchase large quantities are closed.“You might have a dairy facility that's used to packing milk in huge bags that go into...

The Livingston County Farm Bureau has come together with Natural Upcycling, Craigs Station Creamery and Dairy Farmers of America to offer the free community milk distribution in honor of *World Milk Day.*The effort was made possible through the ReFED COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund, a grant designed to reduce food...

With up to 40 percent of food wasted and the U.S. food supply chain currently struggling, interest in developing new ways to make food is surging. To that end, the Upcycled Food Association is looking ahead to more food companies joining its ranks as well as starting a product certification program later this year....

Researchers from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service have developed a process that produces 2-keto-D-gluconic acid, a building block chemical for vitamin C, by using bread-based food waste, according to a study published in Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery.

You may have heard the term “upcycled food” used in the past year — or maybe not. In any case, you'll likely be hearing it more now that it has a specific definition.The term, which has been used to refer to the reduction of food waste by using more of a whole product,...

Upcycled food is now an officially defined term, which advocates say will encourage broader consumer and industry support for products that help reduce food waste. Upcycling—transforming ingredients that would have been wasted into edible food products—has been gaining ground in alternative food movements for several years but had never been officially...

World Milk Day will be marked in Livingston County on June 1 – the first day of Dairy Month – with a free milk distribution

The Department of Agriculture says 30% to 40% of food goes to waste in the United States — and the figure is likely higher because of the coronavirus pandemic.Some farmers have resorted to dumping milk and plowing over crops because the universities, schools and restaurants that normally purchase large quantities of food are closed.People...

Food waste in the U.S. isn’t a new phenomenon, but the coronavirus outbreak and its consequences have made it hard to ignore. About 35% to 40% of food ends up as garbage, with the biggest chunk of that happening in the home. Yet 37 million Americans experienced food insecurity in 2018, and...

The Upcycled Food Association created a task force of academic, nonprofit and industry leaders who just released the first official definition for "upcycled food." The group said implementing a single definition could unify the category and encourage more food companies to use ingredients that reduce food waste.

The coronavirus pandemic has presented unique challenges for those working to put edible food to use safely while reducing waste. ReFED launched a COVID-19 webinar discussion series to help professionals along the food supply chain navigate these uncertain times with expert panelists who discussed some of those challenges and possible solutions.

This month the Upcycled Food Association faced a challenging and historic event: creating the formal definition of the term “upcycled food.” Representatives from Drexel University, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, ReFED, and the World Wildlife Fund met to do the painstaking work normally...

The COVID-19 Fresh Food Fund, a partnership program led by The Partnership for a Healthier America and Produce Marketing Association launched in Denver, Colo. with the first delivery of food boxes filled with produce for families in the Denver area. The donations will continue for the next 3 months, providing...

A good chunk of the food waste is due to the rigidity of our food system,' said one industry expert

Food waste is taking on a new meaning in the pandemic era.

The COVID-19 Fresh Food Fund, a partnership program led by The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) and Produce Marketing Association (PMA) BB #:153708 launched today in Denver with the first delivery of food boxes filled with produce for families in the Denver area.

Jam made with bacon scraps; fish jerky that turns unwanted fish into something delicious; granola bars and snack puffs crafted from spent brewing grams.These are just a few examples of how entrepreneurial ingenuity is transforming food byproducts and scraps into novel and often very nutritious products for human consumption, creating...

Food waste is taking on a new meaning in the pandemic era.Dumped milk in Wisconsin. Smashed eggs in Nigeria. Rotting grapes in India. Buried hogs in Minnesota. These disturbing images have stirred outrage around the world. But here’s the surprising part: the world may not actually be wasting more than...

Food waste is taking on a new meaning in the pandemic era.Dumped milk in Wisconsin. Smashed eggs in Nigeria. Rotting grapes in India. Buried hogs in Minnesota. These disturbing images have stirred outrage around the world. But here’s the surprising part: the world may not actually be wasting more than...

Zero waste is a movement in the hospitality industry. It’s a great idea, but is it possible? U.S. restaurants generate 11.4 million tons of organic trash each year, at a cost of more than $25 billion. (ReFED)

As people are cooking more than ever before, an expert offers tips on how to waste less food.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has upended nearly every aspect of modern society, but especially the food system. Farmers are being forced to discard unprecedented amounts of food surplus because of the closure of schools, restaurants and hotels. And, because of the complex logistics of the food supply chain, diverting food supply away from...

Why is food being destroyed while people go hungry? It’s complicated.

About 40 percent of the food produced globally gets wasted at some point along the food chain. And according to the food waste reduction think tank ReFED, seeing that food gets to its final destination for consumption has to do largely with packaging. About 25 percent of residential food waste is...

ReFED is an American initiative that is attempting to provide viable food waste solutions and relief for organizations, farmers, and those in need. Throughout the month of May, ReFED is giving more than $1,000,000 USD in order to prevent 10 million pounds of food waste in the duration and wake...

Shopping. Stress can trigger our ancient brain’s instinct to Get more now! But experts say panic buying is counterproductive.

"It feels like we’re peeling an onion."That’s what sustainability veteran Dave Stangis said when I asked him about the long-term changes being wrought by coronavirus. We peel back a layer to reveal one impact, only to realize there’s another beneath. "Some we may not know for months," he added.

As an undergrad in the early 2010s, I found the perfect loophole to the legal drinking age: brewing my own beer. I started using the spent grain leftover from my homebrewing as an ingredient in bread, then I would sell these loaves and use the proceeds to buy the ingredients...

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused several kinks in the food supply chain, making the recovery of excess food more difficult at a time when the population is increasing and already vulnerable to shortages.

An estimated 16,500 meals are being wasted daily in central Iowa. We all have a role to play in bridging the gap between the food we have available in our community and those who need it.

For the last two weekends in a row, community organizer Molly Page has led a group of about two dozen volunteers to a rural Idaho farm on an unusual rescue mission: saving potatoes. Page got the idea after seeing a photo posted to Facebook advertising free potatoes at a farm...

Prior to COVID-19 becoming our new reality, food waste was already a serious issue. At a time when one in seven Americans is food insecure, 52 million tons of food ends in a landfill, not counting another 10 million tons of food that is left in fields discarded or unharvested each year. 

Daniel Humm, owner of the three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, received $250,000 from American Express in two days just by asking, Bloomberg reports. After Eleven Madison Park closed on March 16, Humm says that he realized that it would have cost “millions of dollars” to reopen between staffing, equipment, and sourcing costs. Instead,...

A $3 billion “farmers to families food box” program, part of the Trump administration’s coronavirus relief package, may not be the most efficient way to channel food to the needy, a panel of experts said on Monday. But it does address two vexing issues during the pandemic – crops with...

In Brooklyn, New York, Rhodora Wine Bar evokes a neighborhood watering hole transported from Europe. Details like distressed wood, mismatched chairs and marble tables honed matte with wear suggest the passage of time. A pared-down menu of tapas and natural wines is framed by second-hand furnishings, while upcycled tiles that adorn the...

As COVID-19 upends the global food supply chain and disrupts economies around the world, the threat of food waste looms particularly large.

Full Harvest(R), the first business-to-business online marketplace for surplus and imperfect produce, today was named to the 2020 Fast Company World Changing Ideas list, winning the food category out of a record 3,000+ entries for the company’s innovative model working to solve the world’s leading contributor to climate change: food waste. 

Coronavirus has drastically shifted all of our futures, and that’s true of sustainability teams. Many plans, initiatives, improvement projects and end-of-year goals have been put on hold to tackle the immediate crisis — even if long-term aspirations remain steadfast. 

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has upended nearly every aspect of modern society, but especially the food system. Farmers are being forced to discard unprecedented amounts of food surplus because of the closure of schools, restaurants, and hotels. And, because of the complex logistics of the food supply chain, diverting food supply away from...

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has upended nearly every aspect of modern society, but especially the food system. Farmers are being forced to discard unprecedented amounts of food surplus because of the closure of schools, restaurants, and hotels. And, because of the complex logistics of the food supply chain, diverting food supply away from...

Without critical restaurant orders, farmers destroy crops while food banks see unprecedented demand from coronavirus-related unemployment.

After a year of progress, growth, and learning, Rethink Food Waste Through Economics and Data (ReFED) entered 2019 with momentum that hasn’t let up.

Study Finds that HelloFresh Meal Kits Generate 21% Less Food Waste Than Traditional Grocery Shopping

The pathways to get food to restaurants are entirely different that getting food to stores. As small farmers try to adjust, it’s creating a tragic loss of food at a time when people need it most.

Using "imperfect" or "ugly" fruit in downstream food products such as purees, canned foods or frozen fruit has been the practice of farmers for almost half a century. But only recently has ugly fruit become an obsession for the sustainability movement, as consumer awareness of the practice grows.

While the primary concern during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic should be physical health and getting food to people in order for them to stay alive and healthy, the impact of the virus on the restaurant industry has been tremendous. Restaurants are an essential part of the food supply chain to...

Goods in supermarkets are handled not just by employees but also by perhaps dozens of other shoppers before they make it to your grocery cart. That’s one of the reasons we’re seeing a spike in online grocery delivery sales as well as curbside pickup — contactless delivery programs cut down on the literal touchpoints...

Here are the session videos from the Spoon’s COVID-19 Virtual Strategy Summit.

An estimated one-third of all food produced is either lost or wasted.Nearly 30% of the world’s agricultural land is used for food that will never be eaten.

Unpopped popcorn kernels from movie theaters. Pre-wrapped cheese plates for airline passengers. These are just a few of the unexpected food resources that, due to social distancing recommendations, are going to waste during the coronavirus pandemic.

Come 2020, poised innovations include how to grow produce with increasingly fewer laborers, how to extend the shelf-life of that produce, how to commercially deliver food faster than fast, how to feed nine billion people 50 years from now, and how to save Earth.

IN THE BEST of times, the United States wastes 40 percent of its food annually, amounting to about 63 million tons. The collective response to the coronavirus pandemic, from panic buying at grocery stores to restaurant closures, is bound to inflate that percentage, food loss experts say, at a time...

An American firm has developed an organic coating that extends the shelf-life of fruit and vegetables. Might it save the world?

This week we’ve got stories on safer pesticide coatings, climate-friendly snacks and a very personal way astronauts can sustain space agriculture.

Food waste is a massive problem in restaurants and bars.This year, it’s estimated that the amount of food waste produced by restaurants will exceed 11 million tons.

There’s something new on the menu. This fall, we’ll be debuting a new component to the VERGE conference ecosystem: VERGE Food, focusing on the rising interest in sustainable food systems.

Imagine buying five bags of groceries, paying for them, then throwing two directly into the trash. Unfortunately, that’s reality — Americans throw out roughly 40% of the food they buy.

Waste360 announces the winners of its fifth annual 40 Under 40 awards program, which honors the next generation of leaders who are shaping the future of the waste and recycling industry. Over the past five years, Waste360 has honored some of the industry’s brightest and most talented leaders, and it looks forward to recognizing...

Twenty years ago, there were 2 options for delivery: pizza or Chinese food. Today there’s no limitation, thanks to third party delivery services such as DoorDash, GrubHub, and up-and-comer, Uber Eats. Data firm Second Measure reported U.S. restaurant delivery sales grew 52 percent year-over-year in May 2019.

A Brooklyn wine bar and restaurant is one of a handful of establishments in different cities that are trying to eliminate waste from their premises.

Rethink Food Waste Through Economics and Data (ReFED) announced that Plentiful, a digital platform improving client dignity and efficiency at food pantries in New York City, is the $100,000 prize winner of ReFED’s Nonprofit Food Recovery Accelerator.

Extended Producer Responsibility, single-use packaging bans, recycling challenges, and other issues related to current and future legislative policy are discussed in this Q&A with AMERIPEN.

ReFED, the only U.S. nonprofit wholly dedicated to food waste reduction, announced that Plentiful, a digital platform improving client dignity and efficiency at food pantries in New York City, is the $100,000 prize winner of ReFED’s Nonprofit Food Recovery Accelerator. Plentiful eliminates lines through reservations, reduces data redundancies, and creates...

ReFED, a California-based nonprofit, recently announced the first 10 members of its new Nonprofit Food Recovery Accelerator. Each organization will receive $30,000, with funding supplied by the Walmart Foundation.

The Nonprofit Food Recovery Accelerator hopes to find technological solutions to put wasted food to better use.

Open call for applications begins for the three-month accelerator, which will offer $350,000 in prizes and access to ReFED’s network of experts.

According to ReFed, a multi-stakeholder nonprofit committed to reducing U.S. food waste, one in seven Americans are unsure where their next meal will come from. Yet simultaneously, we waste 40% of edible food from the time it is harvested to its journey to the dinner plate. It just doesn’t make sense....