ReFED Articles

Legends Global Joins the U.S. Food Waste Pact

The Collaborative Food Waste Effort Expands Its Footprint in the Hospitality Sector

Mid-Year Reflections: Five Things to Celebrate

This year has been flying by, and with so much happening in the food waste space, it can be hard to keep track of all of the news and updates. Yet looking back on the last six plus months, we’re feeling proud of some “big wins” for ReFED and the food waste movement broadly.

[SUMMIT RECAP] Fixing Food System Inefficiencies with AI

During the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit session, The Big Picture: Megatrends Shaping the Future of Food Waste, industry innovators shared how this data-driven technology improves operations in the logistically complex areas of refrigerated food delivery and hospitality.

[SUMMIT RECAP] How AI is Aiding the Fight Against Food Waste

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly seen as a game-changing technology that can help significantly reduce food waste. Yet, there have been very few real-time, systemwide assessments of how AI is actually being applied.

California's New Food Date Label Law Is Here. Here's What It Means.

Last week, California took a huge step in tackling the date labelling problem by becoming the first state in the nation to implement standardized consumer-facing food date labels.

New Report: Affordability Messaging Boosts Waste Reduction | ReFED

The 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit Video Library

Whether you were there or not, it’s likely you missed out on some of the amazing and information-filled sessions. So to make it easy to dive back in, we’ve put together this video library for your viewing pleasure.

[WEBINAR RECAP] The Future of Upcycled Food

Here’s a recap of the trends and predictions for the upcycled food movement covered during the discussion.

Faith and Food Waste: A Shared Commitment to Stewardship and Community

This article explores how faith communities stand as one of the most meaningful and underutilized ways to engage millions of community members in food waste reduction efforts. For organizations working to reduce food waste, feed people, and encourage long-term behavior change, these communities represent both trusted messengers and longstanding infrastructure for community action.

[GUEST BLOG] How Food Waste Organizations Can Scale Their Delivery Operations

Distribution is where food recovery efforts stall. And while the logistics industry has developed sophisticated tools for solving exactly these kinds of problems, most food waste organizations have had limited access to them. That is beginning to change.

A Bipartisan Path to Increase Affordability, Maximize Income for Farmers, and Improve Soil Health: ReFED’s Food Waste Policy Priorities

Policy change is one powerful tool to help confront this problem. And, despite the gridlock and politics in our nation’s capital, we believe there are a handful of practical and achievable policies that officials in both parties can get behind in the next couple of years to make progress on this issue and help their constituents.

A Commitment to Solving Food Waste: Ideas from Two Days of the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

This conviction and commitment to solving food waste fueled the conversations on stage and in the conference halls and set the tone for an incredible schedule of mainstage and breakout sessions, networking opportunities, field trips, and more. Here are a few of the key ideas we’re thinking about from the Summit so far.

ReFED Announces $2M in Grants to Nine Organizations Tackling Methane Through Its Catalytic Grant Fund

Today at the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit, ReFED announced the newest cohort of grantees selected through its Catalytic Grant Fund, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to provide flexible, risk-tolerant capital to food waste solutions with the potential for outsized climate impact.

Advancing Food Waste Diversion: Why a Local, Distributed Strategy Wins

This article explores the emerging composters and technology providers helping food businesses build flexible, resilient strategies to divert food waste from landfill across diverse operating environments.

Moving the Middle From Acknowledgment to Commitment

This gap presents a significant opportunity to move these companies beyond acknowledgment toward a public commitment to a food waste diversion or reduction target. The following blog explores why companies get stuck and what to do about it.

2025 Year-End: State Food Waste Legislative Trends—and a Closer Look at New Jersey

Since the 2025 midyear update, state food waste policy activity has continued, largely in the form of incremental developments rather than sweeping new legislative initiatives. Earlier momentum around organic waste diversion and date labeling remains an important backdrop, but the second half of the year was defined more by implementation questions and refining of existing frameworks.

Beyond the Summit: Building the Systems To Reduce Food Waste

In this article, ReFED sits down with Ben Kuethe Oaks of divert to discuss the innovations and trends driving food waste reduction, including leveraging increasingly granular data, building out system-level solutions, and treating surplus food as a source of value rather than just waste.

Top 7 Reasons to Attend the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit (And One Bonus Reason…)

In just over a month, we will be convening in Charlotte for a meeting of the minds to discuss how we continue the momentum and progress we’re seeing to reduce food waste. If you haven’t gotten your 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit ticket yet, here are seven reasons why you should do it today.

New Report: Nationwide Reduction in Food Waste Driven by Households

ReFED’s yearly progress report "Progress on the Plate: The 2026 U.S. Food Waste Report" shows that in 2024, total surplus food decreased to 70 million tons, a 2.2% reduction from 2023 and slightly more than a 3.7% decrease per capita, led by a nearly 950,000 ton reduction in residential food waste.

ReFED Receives 2026 Impact Award from the James Beard Foundation

The Impact Awards program recognizes changemakers actively working to push for standards that create a more equitable, sustainable, and economically viable restaurant industry and food system for producers, workers, and consumers alike.

[WEBINAR RECAP] Andrew Zimmern on the Future of Food Waste Solutions

This disconnect between resource abundance and systemic failure served as the jumping-off point for ReFED’s recent webinar, What Will It Take to Solve Food Waste?. Emmy and James Beard Award-winning host, chef, and food advocate Andrew Zimmern joined ReFED President Dana Gunders to discuss why we can no longer settle for temporary workarounds that merely relocate waste rather than eliminate it.

Why The ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund Supported Fieldwork Robotics: Tackling Labor Shortages and Food Waste at the Source

This intersection—high levels of on-farm food loss and structural labor constraints—signals a clear need for new technology, equipment, and business models. That’s why we funded Fieldwork Robotics through the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund.

2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit Video Library & Session Replays

At the DNO Produce group of companies, we’ve learned that reducing food waste rarely comes from a single breakthrough. More often, it’s the result of sustained investment, cross-sector collaboration, and a willingness to keep moving forward even when solutions cost more or take longer than expected.

A Funder’s Guide to the Current State of Federal Funding for Food Waste Solutions

ReFED estimates that achieving meaningful food waste reduction requires approximately $3 billion in annual government implementation support over the next 10 years, with over $1.6 billion needed in annual grants specifically. Current federal funding represents roughly 5% of that need.

Food Waste Tracking: A Must-Have for Food Businesses

In many organizations, food waste is not measured consistently and is often treated as an unavoidable byproduct of operations rather than a managed performance metric. In reality, it represents one of the largest sources of unmanaged cost.

How Confusing Food Date Labels Are Hitting Your Wallet: Five Things to Know About Food Date Labels, Consumer Behavior, and Policy

At a time when grocery prices remain high and households are actively trying to save money, understanding how consumers use (and struggle with) date labels offers a critical opportunity to ensure food that is still edible—despite passing a mostly arbitrary date—is consumed rather than sent to the trash.

[WEBINAR RECAP] The Power of Freezing to Reduce Wasted Food

While many strategies around cutting down on food waste focus on purchasing, planning, or redistribution, one powerful tool is often hiding in plain sight: the freezer.

U.S. Food Waste Pact Report Shows Less Food Being Wasted In Retail and Foodservice Sectors

A new report from the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), a collaborative initiative of 30 food businesses across the country led by nonprofits ReFED and World Wildlife Fund, shows reductions in the amount of food being wasted nationwide by grocery retail and foodservice companies in 2024 compared to 2023. The results are good news for the food system, as it tries to address its 60-million-ton food waste problem.

[WEBINAR RECAP] How Customizable Portions Can Cut Food Waste and Improve Business

Nearly 70% of restaurant food waste comes from what diners leave on their plates. Yet almost 60% of consumers say they’d be more likely to visit a restaurant that offers customizable portions.

Four Good Food Waste Stories to Kick Off 2026

Just six weeks into 2026, and we’re seeing some positive signals for food waste reduction. Even when it’s not obvious or clear in the data, there is action on food waste happening across the country.

Subtle but Successful: The Common-Sense Food Waste Solutions Hiding in Plain Sight

Across manufacturing, foodservice, and retail, organizations are reducing waste not by investing in the latest software, but by revisiting their fundamentals.

New Research Shows Consumer Demand for Customizable Portions in Restaurants

Released this month, a new analysis from ReFED and Datassential shows that restaurant owners and operators who offer customizable portions can gain a competitive advantage by catering to what Americans want, including emerging market segments such as Gen-Z and GLP-1 users.

[GUEST BLOG] Turning Food Waste into Value: Lessons From Retail

Now a private consultant, John reflects on the lessons he learned advancing food waste reduction and donation in complex retail environments.

What’s Ahead? Our 2026 Food Waste Forecast

As ReFED does every year, we’re providing our thoughts on a handful of food waste trends to keep an eye on in the months to come.

Wishing You A Waste-Free Holiday: A Message From Dana Gunders

9 Tips from the ReFED Staff for a Low Food Waste Holiday

Here at ReFED, reducing food waste isn’t just something we work on professionally. It’s something we think about in our own homes, especially during the busy, food-filled weeks of the holiday season! To help you stay ahead of holiday food waste this year, we asked members of the ReFED team to share the practical strategies they use in their own kitchens to reduce waste.

The American Hotel & Lodging Association Joins the U.S. Food Waste Pact

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), the trade association that advocates for every segment of the hotel industry, has become the latest trade association to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), a joint initiative led by ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce food waste across the food system. AHLA joins 29 other food businesses and organizations signing onto the Pact’s voluntary agreement, which utilizes the “Target, Measure, Act” framework to facilitate industry collaboration and action to reduce food waste across the food system.

The International Fresh Produce Association Joins the U.S. Food Waste Pact

The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA), the trade association that advocates for the fresh produce supply chain, has become the latest trade association to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), a joint initiative led by ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce food waste across the food system. IFPA joins 28 other food businesses and organizations signing onto the Pact’s voluntary agreement, which utilizes the “Target, Measure, Act” framework to facilitate industry collaboration and action to reduce food waste across the food system.

The Transformational Impact of Catalytic Capital: The 2025 ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund Wrap-Up

To date, the Fund has raised more than $7.5 million and supported 21 grantees, over half led by diverse executive teams.

Five Questions About Massachusetts’ Commercial Food Waste Disposal Ban and Its Economic Impact

In June, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) published an economic impact analysis of its commercial food waste disposal ban that was first implemented in 2014.

Get to Know ReFED’s New Board Member Michiel Bakker

In November, ReFED had the privilege of welcoming Michiel Bakker, president of the Culinary Institute of America, to its Board of Directors.

CAVA Joins the U.S. Food Waste Pact

CAVA, the category-defining Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant brand, has become the newest quick-service restaurant to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), a joint initiative led by ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce food waste throughout the supply chain. CAVA joins 27 other food businesses and organizations signing onto the Pact’s voluntary agreement, which utilizes the “Target, Measure, Act” framework to facilitate industry collaboration and action to reduce food waste across the food system.

New ReFED Report Offers Insights on Most Fundable Solutions in Food Waste-To-Feed

For capital providers and food businesses alike, the report offers insights into the most fundable—and genuinely circular—solutions in waste-to-feed.

Five Things You Need to Know About ReFED's Business Services

Recognizing the complexity and scale of this challenge, ReFED created its Business Services team to help companies turn ambitious waste reduction goals into sustainable, high-impact results.

[GUEST BLOG] From Mandate to Momentum: How Massachusetts Turned an Organic Waste Ban into a Model for Success

This article explores how the Commonwealth aligned policy with strategic investments in infrastructure and technical assistance to create a practical, scalable model, and how the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund is helping that model expand across the country.

[GUEST BLOG] The Low Hanging Fruit: Using Existing Data To Cut Spoilage Shrink Now at Grocery Retail

To give a glimpse into what an inventory health perspective can provide for grocery supply chains, I want to share one simple, actionable inventory analysis that can easily help retailers reduce some of the root causes of spoilage shrink quickly.

How much food will go to waste this Thanksgiving? About $550 million worth.

A new analysis by ReFED estimates that across America 320 million pounds of food will be wasted this Thanksgiving, representing $550 million worth of food thrown away in just a single day.

Feeding People During the Shutdown: Organizations Stepping Up to Help [Updated]

While a potential resolution has not yet been agreed upon, food recovery and charitable food aid organizations across the country are stepping up to fill the gap created by this situation, as well as the cuts to food aid that have occurred throughout the year.

Turning Small Experiments into Big Wins for Food Waste Reduction

New Seasons Market Joins the U.S. Food Waste Pact

New Seasons Market, the Portland-based grocery chain providing locally sourced and organic items, has become the latest grocery retailer to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), a joint initiative led by ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce food waste throughout the supply chain. New Seasons Market joins 26 other food businesses and organizations signing onto the Pact’s voluntary agreement, which utilizes the “Target, Measure, Act” framework to facilitate industry collaboration and action to reduce food waste across the food system.

Beyond the Summit: Wellness On Your Plate

What is less obvious is that many dietitians are also very familiar with the scale of food waste in the United States and why it’s important to address it.

Midwest Foods Joins the U.S. Food Waste Pact

Midwest Foods, Chicago’s locally, family, and women- owned wholesale produce distributor, has joined the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), a joint initiative led by nonprofits ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce food waste throughout the supply chain. Midwest Foods is the first distributor in its region—and only the second in the nation—to join 25 other food businesses and organizations participating in the collaborative food-waste reduction effort guided by the “Target, Measure, Act” framework.

A Note About the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

Since 2019, we have been proud to host the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit, the premier food waste event of the year.

Western Growers Association Joins U.S. Food Waste Pact

The Grower Association Becomes the First Signatory Representing the Agricultural Sector

Three Ways to Keep the Climate Week NYC Momentum Alive

Last week, members of the ReFED team joined thousands of other like-minded professionals in New York City for Climate Week NYC.

ReFED Announces New Catalytic Grant Fund Open Call Focused On Methane Reduction

Today at Climate Week NYC, ReFED, the U.S.-based nonprofit working to solve food waste, announced a new open call focused on methane reduction for its Catalytic Grant Fund, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to support food waste solutions with catalytic funding that can unlock outsized impact.

Five Things You Need to Know About the ReFED Food Waste Action Network

By connecting professionals, grassroots organizations, and more from across sectors, FWAN creates a space to share needs and expertise that can help members achieve their food waste reduction goals.

Beyond the Summit: Reimagining Food Rescue

Fortunately, there are food recovery organizations across the country that are finding new and exciting ways to strengthen their services, scale their impact, and reimagine a food system where food rescue is embedded and easy-to-do.

ReFED President Dana Gunders Receives the Prestigious Heinz Award for the Environment

The Heinz Family Foundation today named Dana Gunders and Sacoby M. Wilson, Ph.D., recipients of the prestigious 30th Heinz Award for the Environment.

Climate Week NYC 2025: Where to Find ReFED

From September 22-26, we’re excited to be back in New York City for this year’s Climate Week, where we will be on the ground making sure that food waste reduction is recognized as a top climate solution by the thought leaders and changemakers in attendance.

Get to Know ReFED’s Policy Director Kumar Chandran

In July, ReFED welcomed its first policy director to the team, a milestone for the organization and an indication of how far we have advanced since our launch in 2016.

Organically Grown Company Becomes the First Distributor to Join the U.S. Food Waste Pact

Organically Grown Company, an Oregon-based wholesale distributor of fresh organic fruits and vegetables, has joined the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), a joint initiative led by nonprofits ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce food waste throughout the supply chain. Organically Grown joins 23 other food businesses and organizations that participate in the collaborative food waste reduction effort centered on the “Target, Measure, Act” framework.

Three Questions (and Answers) About the Offer Versus Serve Flexibility for School Lunches

In June, the USDA issued a memo reminding schools of the “offer versus serve (OVS) flexibility” as one way to reduce this food waste while also empowering students to select a meal that they like. So what is OVS flexibility, and why does it matter?

Mid-Year Check-In: What 2025 Food Waste Legislation Tells Us About What’s Next

This check-in highlights state efforts thus far in 2025 and reflects on where food waste policy might be headed next.

Beyond the Summit: Building the Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste

Motivations to reduce food loss and waste within business operations include environmental concerns like mitigating climate change or social considerations like addressing hunger, but more often than not, there needs to be a clear financial case to take action—and fortunately, there usually is.

Increase Your Visibility to the Food Waste Community: ReFED’s Solution Provider Directory

ReFED’s Solution Provider Directory is a curated database of over 1,700 organizations from around the world offering products and services to reduce food waste, spanning prevention, rescue, and recycling.

Checking In on the 2025 Food Waste Forecast

It’s more than halfway through the year, making it the perfect time to revisit our 2025 Food Waste Forecast and see how our predictions are panning out.

Five Things You Need to Know About the U.S. Food Waste Pact

Launched by co-leaders ReFED and World Wildlife Fund, the U.S. Food Waste Pact (the Pact) is a national voluntary agreement to help businesses accelerate progress toward their food waste reduction targets.

ReFED Staff Share Nine Tips for a Low Food Waste Summer

And to help you make sure your summer plans are as low food waste as possible, we surveyed the ReFED staff for their advice on how to enjoy yourself while minimizing wasted food.

“A Community That Can Create Change”: Three Takeaways from the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

It’s been just over two weeks since the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit wrapped up, and we’re still relishing all the moments of connection, inspiration, and problem solving.

Sprouts Farmers Market Joins the U.S. Food Waste Pact to Collaborate With Industry Peers on Waste Reduction Efforts

Sprouts Farmers Market, the Phoenix-based specialty retailer focused on fresh, natural, and organic food, has become the latest grocery retailer to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), a joint initiative led by ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce food waste throughout the supply chain. Sprouts joins 21 other food businesses and organizations committing to the Pact’s voluntary agreement, which utilizes the “Target, Measure, Act” framework to facilitate industry collaboration and action to reduce food waste across the food system.

Nicole Chandler: Building Teams to Fight Food Waste

Before joining ReFED, Director of People & Culture Nicole Chandler had already spent years honing her talent for finding the right people, from seasoned experts to diamonds in the rough. With over two decades of experience leading human resources initiatives across industries like hospitality, retail, consumer packaged goods, and entertainment, Nicole brings a wealth of knowledge and a sharp instinct for talent to every role she takes on. When there was an opportunity to join an organization tackling food waste—one of today’s most solvable yet overlooked environmental and economic challenges—Nicole knew it was her next step.

ReFED Announces Nearly $1 Million in Grants to Five Organizations Addressing Food Loss on Farms Through Its Catalytic Grant Fund

The first-of-its-kind initiative helps innovative solutions scale their potential to address food waste and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Making Progress on Food Waste Right Now: Highlights from Day Two of the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

And just like that, day two of the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit is in the books.

Meet the 2025 Summit Sponsors: A Q&A with Amazon

Amazon is sponsoring the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit to accelerate collaborative solutions in the fight against food waste.

Stars, Stripes, and Surplus: 126 Million Pounds of Food Will Go Uneaten This Fourth of July

Every Fourth of July, America fires up the grill. Then, it throws away about 20 percent of the food meant for the occasion.

Meet the 2025 Summit Sponsors: A Q&A with The Tepper Foundation

At The Tepper Foundation, we support organizations working on the frontlines to expand opportunity—from promoting food and housing security to protecting fundamental rights.

Meet the 2025 Summit Sponsors: A Q&A with The Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation

Our mission at the Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation is to move communities toward a more balanced sustainable relationship with the environment.

Digging Into Date Label Policy in the U.S.

With renewed attention on food date label policy since the FDA and USDA issued a request for information on food date labels last year, ReFED caught up with Latino to discuss the elements that make food date label policy effective.

FMI, The Food Industry Association Becomes First Trade Association to Join U.S. Food Waste Pact

FMI, The Food Industry Association, which works with and on behalf of the entire industry to advance a safer, healthier, and more efficient consumer food supply chain, has become the first trade association to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), the national voluntary agreement focused on reducing food waste in the U.S., co-led by nonprofits ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Meet the 2025 Summit Sponsors: A Q&A with Flashfood

Flashfood is an app-based marketplace connecting shoppers with affordable, fresh and nutritious groceries.

Five Food Waste Solutions Added to ReFED’s Insights Engine

ReFED is excited to add five new solutions to its Solutions Database, reflecting a broader and more representative view of how food waste can be addressed across the food supply chain.

Meet the 2025 Summit Sponsors: A Q&A with Chick-fil-A

Caring for our planet is one of our key corporate social responsibility focus areas, and it reflects Chick-fil-A’s commitment to being good stewards of the resources we have.

Meet the 2025 Summit Sponsors: A Q&A with Mill

Mill is a food recycling system that makes it easy for people to prevent wasted food at home and at work.

Meet the 2025 Summit Sponsors: A Q&A with Northstar Recycling

At Northstar Recycling, addressing food waste is not just an operational focus—it’s a central pillar of our mission to "help businesses recycle more and landfill less."

New White Paper Shares Insights from the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund’s Restaurant Open Call

Now, ReFED and Toast.org collaborated again to publish a white paper that features insights from the 2023 Restaurant Open Call and provides an overview of how grantees are offering solutions tailored to four common restaurant scenarios.

GUEST BLOG: The Power of Small Actions with Big Impact

Through structured interventions, behavioral nudges, and student-led initiatives, schools can create a culture where waste reduction becomes second nature.

Hilton Joins U.S. Food Waste Pact As First Hospitality Signatory

Hilton, a global leader in hospitality, has become the first signatory from its sector to sign the U.S. Food Waste Pact, the national voluntary agreement focused on reducing food waste in the U.S., co-led by nonprofits ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Angel Veza: Bridging the Gap Between Funding and Solutions

For Angel, that moment of reckoning shifted the course of her career. “I knew I wanted to work on food waste full-time,” she says.

Measurement That Matters: ReFED’s New and Improved Impact Calculator

Earlier this year, ReFED made big improvements to the Impact Calculator in our Insights Engine to enhance usability and add new metrics, including analysis of methane emissions.

Building Momentum, Reaching Milestones: ReFED's 2024 Annual Impact Report

The following pages are filled with stories of how we harnessed, accelerated, and channeled the energy of the food waste movement to produce results.

Top 7 Reasons to Attend the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

We can’t wait to convene in Seattle to discuss how to build a more sustainable and resilient food system at the 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit—and with just over two months left until the big event, we put together this list of reasons why you need to be there.

ReFED Staff Share Their Food Waste “Why?” to Celebrate Food Waste Prevention Week

To help recognize and celebrate Food Waste Prevention Week at ReFED, we asked staff to share brief testimonials on their “why” for dedicating their professional (and very often personal) lives to solving food loss and waste in the United States.

West Coast Retailers Reduce Unsold Food Rates by 30% in Five Years

The Milestone And More Are Detailed In a Joint Annual Report From The Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment And The U.S. Food Waste Pact.

Thinking Big at the ReFED and XPRIZE “Moonshot Workshop” on Global Food Loss and Waste

As an ongoing part of ReFED's mission to accelerate solutions to food loss and waste and in recognition of the critical lever capital plays in achieving these ambitions, ReFED and XPRIZE co-hosted a “Moonshot Workshop” at Climate Week 2024.

Five Years Since COVID-19 Upended Our Food System

COVID-19 had a profound impact on the food system, with business closures, labor shortages, and <a href="https://refed.org/action-areas/enhance-product-distribution">supply chain disruptions</a> causing significant fluctuations in surplus food levels.

2024 Year-End Recap: Trends in State Food Waste Legislation

This update highlights some of the policy changes and legislative actions shaping the future of food waste reduction that we saw in the latter half of 2024.

Meet ReFED’s Three New Board Members

And last year, we added three new members with deep expertise spanning sustainability, public health, and manufacturing and retail. Keep reading to learn more about them.

From Surplus to Solutions: A Q&A on ReFED’s New U.S. Food Waste Report

To help you get an understanding of what the new report is and why it’s important, we sat down with ReFED President Dana Gunders to ask a few questions.

Confusion Over Food Date Labels Has Grown, According to New National Survey

In a time of elevated food prices, more U.S. consumers are discarding edible food prematurely due to misperceptions of food date labels.

Food Waste Remains Stubbornly High Despite Signs of Progress, According to New ReFED Report

The new annual food waste report identifies key statistics, insights, and progress points to inform systemwide action.

How Much Food Do Households Waste? New and Improved Residential Food Waste Estimates

ReFED is excited to announce an update to the Insights Engine, featuring a significant improvement in how we estimate household food waste.

Scaling Food Waste Solutions Through Voluntary Agreements

The case studies published by the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment in 2024 detail intervention projects launched with participating food businesses, with a special emphasis on those that are repeatable and have broad impact potential. This article provides an overview of two solutions areas—employee engagement and whole chain collaboration—including what is driving their success and what’s to come in 2025.

Five Good News Stories to Kick Off 2025

We’re just over a month into 2025, and already we’ve noticed some bright spots for reducing wasted food that we wanted to take time to highlight.

Reading the Tea Leaves: Four Potential Impacts of GLP-1s on Food Waste

Through these conversations, we identified four potential ways GLP-1s may impact how much food goes to waste in the United States.

Sara Burnett: Unlocking the Potential of ReFED

Long before she became ReFED’s Executive Director, Sara Burnett was honing her passion for food.

A Policy Win-Win? Three Opportunities to Address High Food Prices and Reduce Waste

Supporting policies that reduce food waste presents a nonpartisan opportunity to help consumers navigate this new normal of high prices.

Looking Ahead: Our 2025 Food Waste Forecast

As ReFED does every year, we’re providing our thoughts on some food waste trends to keep an eye on in the months to come.

Wishing You a Joyful and Delicious Holiday Season

As we approach the end of the year, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for being a part of the ReFED community and supporting our work to increase the adoption of food waste solutions across the supply chain.

9 Tips from ReFED Staff to Reduce Holiday Food Waste

So to help you get ahead of it, we asked the ReFED staff to share helpful tips for reducing wasted food around the holidays.

Food Waste Funder Circle NYC Event Recap

In mid-November, ReFED hosted an in-person field trip for members of our Food Waste Funder Circle, a network designed for private, public, and philanthropic funders who are interested in mobilizing capital toward solving food waste challenges.

GUEST BLOG: Smart Warehousing: How Temperature-Controlled Logistics Fights Food Waste

As global food waste increases and the environment buckles under the impact, it’s critical that we embrace smarter technologies along the food chain to ease the problem.

ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund Announces Open Call to Address On-Farm Food Loss

Today, ReFED, a U.S.-based nonprofit that works to advance solutions to food waste, announced its Catalytic Grant Fund is now accepting applications for solutions that can help to reduce the 17.6 million tons of surplus produce—the harvested or unharvested fruits and vegetables that do not make it to the consumer—that U.S. farms generate each year.

Reimagining Thanksgiving Leftovers...From Dull to Delish

But when the best-laid plans still result in lots of leftovers, one of the simplest, and most delicious, solutions is my favorite – turn them into something craveworthy and memorable.

More Than 30 Countries Sign the COP29 Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste

Today brought yet another big progress point for food loss and waste reduction coming from Baku, Azerbaijan, where more than 30 countries signed on to the COP29 “Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste."

Approaching 2025: Checking In on Global Food Waste Reduction Efforts

And as nations meet in Azerbaijan over the next week at COP29, we’re exploring those three areas, highlighting what the United States and other countries have done, and speculating on what might be ahead when it comes to meeting SDG 12.3.

There's Room for Everyone in the Food Waste "Big Tent"

While there are many uncertainties surrounding the policies of the new administration after last week’s election, we at ReFED are confident that the following remains true—food waste is a nonpartisan issue, and we can all agree that throwing out perfectly good food doesn’t benefit anyone.

“There Are No Losers in Food Waste Reduction”: A Q&A with Guckenheimer

This October, North American foodservice company Guckenheimer announced it had achieved a 64 percent reduction in food waste from a 2022 baseline, making it the first major U.S. foodservice provider to cut food waste in half.

Q&A: The Food Waste Journey of a Cox Conserves Hero

Hunter was recently selected as a finalist for Cox Enterprise’s Cox Conserves Heroes initiative, which recognizes youth and adult volunteers making a positive impact on the environment.

This Thanksgiving, 316 Million Pounds of Food Will Be Wasted Across the U.S.

ReFED estimates that across America 316 million pounds of food will be wasted this Thanksgiving, representing more than $556 million worth of groceries thrown away in a single day.

GUEST BLOG: Rethinking Poultry Production: Bringing Back Hen and Rooster Meat

By utilizing all poultry produced in the egg industry, we can reduce waste, lower our dependence on broiler chickens, and promote a more sustainable and ethical approach to poultry production.

Recap: U.S. Food Waste Pact Town Hall Webinar

On October 16, the U.S. Food Waste Pact—the first national voluntary agreement focused on fighting food waste in the United States—held its first town hall meeting, which gave attendees the opportunity to learn more about the initiative and give feedback on the Pact’s future plans.

Three Ways AI Is Driving Reductions in Food Loss and Waste

And a handful of these solutions are incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data—such as inventory, sales, or even images of discarded food—and generate valuable insights to drive greater reductions in waste.

ReFED Partners with Menus of Change University Research Collaborative on New Repurposing Report and Toolkit

And now a toolkit has been specifically designed for foodservice professionals like restaurant managers, chefs, and dining operators that offers actionable, cost-effective strategies and recipes to utilize high-quality prepped ingredients that would otherwise be wasted.

Uneaten Food Is Responsible for 14 Percent of U.S. Methane Emissions, According to New ReFED Study

Wasting less food and diverting food waste from landfill are critical levers for reducing methane emissions and slowing climate change.

U.S. Food Waste Pact Welcomes Health Care Without Harm As Its Latest Signatory

The U.S. Food Waste Pact, a national voluntary agreement focused on reducing food waste in the U.S. through pre-competitive collaboration and data sharing, announced today that Health Care Without Harm, which works to make health care institutions around the world more sustainable, has become its latest signatory. This marks an important opportunity for the U.S. Food Waste Pact to extend its reach to hospitals across the U.S., which can generate nearly 290k tons of food waste per year.

Webinar Recap: Reducing Food Waste in Schools

Did you miss our webinar on school food waste? We've got a recap right here.

The 2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit is Heading to Seattle

Home to the iconic Space Needle, bustling Pike Place Market, and a stunning waterfront seafood paradise, ReFED is excited to host the 2025 Food Waste Solutions Summit June 23-25 in Seattle, WA.

California Passes Game-Changing, First-In-The-Nation Law To Standardize Date Labels

This past weekend, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the nation’s first legislation to standardize quality and safety date labels on food products “to create clarity and consistency and better inform consumers in order to significantly reduce food waste in the state.”

Climate Week 2024: ReFED's Key Takeaways

We’re still catching our breath after Climate Week in New York City! Thinking back on the week, some key takeaways stand out.

ReFED Shares Concerns About Recent Food Waste Ban Study

A recent paper published in Science suggesting that state-level food waste bans are largely ineffective has been getting a lot of attention in the media and in our food waste industry.

How the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund is Maximizing Every Dollar for Food Waste Solutions

To recognize International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, ReFED's Angel Veza gives a primer on the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund and its impact on grantees and the food waste space.

GUEST BLOG: Tackling Household Food Waste in Japan

Japan produces around five million tons of edible food waste annually, with half of it coming from households.

ReFED Recognized as Top Charity by Industry Leaders

For the second year in a row, ReFED has received top honors for its stewardship of resources and transparency to donors.

GUEST BLOG: A Fresh Approach: How BlakBear is Digitizing Date Labels to Minimize Food Waste

Fixed dates on food are everywhere, relied upon by retailers, manufacturers, restaurants and consumers around the world. But instead of a fixed date, food should actually tell you how fresh it is. BlakBear is using digital use-by dates based on freshness data from the food itself.

Climate Week NYC: Where To Find ReFED

Here are the events where we’re part of the official programming—including a special XPRIZE x ReFED Moonshot Workshop to ideate prize concepts for a potential challenge. We'll keep this page updated with any changes or last-minute additions.

Watch ReFED President Dana Gunders' TED Talk on Food Waste

Earlier this summer, Dana Gunders took the stage as part of the TED Countdown Dilemma Series, where she explained just how big a problem wasting food is and gave common-sense solutions for fighting it.

Five Food Waste Solutions: Food Recovery

While 38% of food produced in the United States becomes surplus, only 2.1% ends up being donated. Here are five solutions that work in tandem to address food recovery and increase donation rates, ensuring that food is nourishing people first and reducing the chance of it becoming waste.

2024 Trends in Domestic Food Waste Legislation

Thirteen unique federal bills addressing domestic food waste are pending before Congress with none passed. On a state level, 22 states have proposed 85 pieces of food waste-related legislation, of which 69 remain pending, nine have passed, and seven have failed.

Why We Funded Food Cycle Science: Making Food Waste Diversion Solutions Accessible to Everyone

Food waste is a problem that negatively impacts the economy and the environment. These challenges present an opportunity for creative business models and partnerships that can rapidly provide consumers with access to food waste diversion solutions, which is why we funded Food Cycle Science (FCS) through the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund.

ReFED Announces Sara Burnett As New Executive Director

Burnett has an extensive background in the food industry, including nearly twenty years at Panera Bread, and a strong focus on sustainability. She will be working closely with Dana Gunders, who is stepping into the new role of President.

Selena Mao: Leveraging Data for Positive Change

ReFED's Manager of Research & Insights Selena Mao discusses how data can make real change in the food landscape and beyond.

Thoughts On The New National Food Loss And Waste Strategy

Simply the existence of this strategy demonstrates a level of attention that food loss and waste has never before seen at the federal level. Is it going to solve everything? No. But it does do a few things.

SUMMIT SPONSOR: Putting Food Waste on the Front Page: Flashfood at the 2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

In this piece, Summit sponsor Flashfood dives into their latest impact report, which they unveiled in Baltimore at the 2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit.

SUMMIT SPONSOR: Utilizing Technology to Reduce Food Waste at Home

In this piece from Summit sponsor Mill, Harry Tannenbaum discusses new data using technology to educate consumers about food waste.

ISS Guckenheimer Joins U.S. Food Waste Pact, Committing To Reducing Food Waste In Their Operations And Their Sector

The company becomes the latest from the foodservice industry to sign on to the collaborative effort.

Americans Will Waste More Than 120 Million Pounds of Food On The Fourth Of July

On a national level, the food that will be wasted on the Fourth of July will amount to more than $12 million in lost value, as well as lost resources. But we can celebrate the holiday in a way that honors the legacy of our country while also helping preserve its natural resources for future generations to come.

SUMMIT SPONSOR: Empowering Consumers in the Food Waste Fight

Summit sponsor Hellmann's talks about "Sick of Food Waste Day," their initiative that encourages people to get creative with their leftovers after the Big Game in February.

Collaboration Takes Center Stage At 2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

The Summit took place in Baltimore in June, and one thing became clear before the event even concluded—progress is happening, and collaboration is accelerating it.

Food System Leaders Gather in Baltimore for Annual Food Waste Solutions Summit

The nation’s premier event focused on solving the issue of food waste features three days of insights, innovation, and action.

SUMMIT SPONSOR: Innovating To Meet Challenges Of Food Recycling On An Industrial Scale

Summit sponsor Northstar Recycling breaks down why innovative downstream solutions are a key part to reducing food waste once and for all.

SUMMIT SPONSOR: Is Confusion the Last Unexplored Frontier of Food & Beverage Waste in 2024?

Check out this spotlight from our Summit sponsor Plus Brand to learn about how they're approaching innovative solutions to reduce consumer food waste.

SUMMIT SPONSOR: Living Out Chick-fil-A's Commitment to Stewardship Through Food Waste Diversion

Curious about food waste reduction in the foodservice sector? Read this spotlight from our summit sponsor Chick-fil-A to learn about their food recovery and organics recycling practices.

State Food Waste Policy in 2023—and Beyond

Food waste laws are being proposed in states across America more than ever before—this article from Harvard's Food Law and Policy Clinic details what those laws are and the impact they could have.

Sam Buck: Building Philanthropic Connections to Accelerate Change Across the Food System

Curious about philanthropy's role in the food waste movement? Our very own Sam Buck provides insight into his journey working in development and building relationships with philanthropic funders to make long-term impact.

ReFED Announces Nearly $1 Million in Grants to Six Organizations Fighting Restaurant Food Waste Through Its Catalytic Grant Fund

With support from Toast.org, the Catalytic Grant Fund's latest open call is accelerating the adoption of promising food waste solutions in the foodservice sector.

U.S. Food Waste Pact Welcomes Amazon Fresh as Signatory

The U.S. Food Waste Pact has announced that Amazon Fresh has joined as a signatory, making the company the sixth major U.S. retailer to sign onto the initiative.

GUEST BLOG: Schools Can Be Our Nation's Largest Food Waste Champions

Did you know that schools are the largest restaurant chain in the U.S.? This guest piece by Eat Real discusses how scaling food waste solutions to schools could make a big impact.

Top 7 Reasons You Should Come To The 2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

We’re excited to convene the food community to talk about progress, solutions, and remaining challenges in Baltimore this summer at the 2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit—and with just two months left until the big event, we thought we’d put together this list of reasons why you don’t want to miss it!

Grocery Stores Report Significant Progress In Reducing Food Waste, New Study Finds

A new study from the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment shows that grocery retailers made the most significant progress ever reported in the United States on reducing food waste in the retail sector.

Chick-fil-A Joins U.S. Food Waste Pact As First Restaurant Signatory

As the U.S. Food Waste Pact’s first restaurant signatory, Chick-fil-A’s participation builds on its long-standing efforts to reduce the amount of wasted food within its operations.

What Can 2023 Funding Teach Us About 2024?

ReFED's Senior Manager of Capital, Innovation & Engagement recaps the biggest food waste investment trends from 2023 and reports on what's in store for 2024.

ReFED Adds Food Waste Investor and Philanthropist Ida Posner to Board

ReFED is excited to announce that Ida Posner, a food waste investor and philanthropist with a ten year history with ReFED, has joined the Board of Directors.

Five Strategies For Reducing Greenhouse Gases Through Food Waste Reduction

Food waste accounts for 6.1% of GHG emissions in the U.S., the same amount generated by 30% of U.S. passenger vehicle transportation. This – and its strong ties to methane emissions in particular – makes reducing food waste a top solution to slowing down climate change.

Jackie Suggitt: Leading the Charge on Food Waste Reduction for Businesses Across the Supply Chain

Meet ReFED's Director of Capital, Innovation, & Engagement Jackie Suggitt, as she discusses her journey to food waste reduction, its place in business operations, and the importance of cross-sector collaboration.

New PCFWC Case Studies Show Value of Whole Chain Collaboration

Through their Whole Chain intervention project, the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment led the nation's first cross-sector pilot project that tracked the food loss and waste generated by two products at multiple points in the supply chain.

ReFED Launches Search for Addition to Executive Team

On the heels of a transformational gift from Ballmer Group that will help ReFED grow significantly in 2024, the addition of a new Executive Director – and the transition of Dana Gunders to President – will expand our capacity to continue serving the needs of the food waste space.

ReFED Launches Business Services for Food Waste Reduction | ReFED

Learn all about ReFED Business Services, our latest offerings for food businesses looking to reduce food waste in their operations.

Comments on the Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics

Dive into ReFED's public comments on the EPA, USDA, and FDA's Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics.

GUEST BLOG: Turning the Tide: How Siel Environmental is Pioneering Food Waste Innovation in the Caribbean

Siel aims to collaborate with government entities, businesses, and grassroots organizations to play a pivotal role in establishing a sustainable framework for managing food waste in the Caribbean.

GUEST BLOG: If Your Climate Action Plan Doesn't Include Food Waste, Here's Why You Should Add It Before the March 1 Deadline

This guest blog by WWF's Senior Director of Food Waste Pete Pearson explores the opportunity for food waste action in proposals for the EPA's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG).

5 Proven Food Waste Solutions for 2024

Looking for food waste reduction strategies that have a high impact? Here are five solutions that have proven effectiveness in reducing waste and mitigating environmental impacts across multiple sectors of the food supply chain.

Minnie Ringland: ReFED's Data Expert for Unraveling Food Waste and Climate Ties

Meet ReFED's Manager of Climate & Insights Minnie Ringland, as she discusses her journey in food waste, the social implications that food waste has on our culture, and the most critical climate metrics right now.

Nine Food Waste Resolutions For 2024

Looking to reduce more food waste this year? We've got 9 easy food waste resolutions for you to try out.

Federal Grants Database Centralizes Funding Opportunities

One of the biggest challenges for organizations working to advance food waste reduction has been accessing funding to develop and scale solutions. A critical source of funding to reduce food waste comes from federal grants, which is why ReFED has partnered with NRDC on this important new resource.

Looking Ahead: Forecasting Food Waste Reduction Progress in 2024

Each year, ReFED takes a look at the food waste landscape and gives thoughts on what might be the biggest moments for the movement in the coming year. From an increased focus on methane to potential policies in all levels of government, here is the 2024 food waste forecast.

Notes on COP28: Food Loss and Waste Took Prominent Role

Food was spotlighted at this COP far more than ever before, and this was the first year there was a formal Food Day as part of the official schedule. More than 150 countries signed onto the “COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action” – and notably, reducing FLW is one of only a handful of specific actions mentioned.

Slow Progress, Big Opportunities: Insights from ReFED's Food Loss and Waste Estimates for 2022

The United States continues to struggle to reduce food surplus and waste across the food system, according to ReFED’s updated estimates for 2022. Last year, 88.7 million tons of food went unsold or uneaten in the U.S. – roughly 38% of the country’s total food supply.

ReFED Receives Transformational Grant From Ballmer Group

This is a watershed moment for ReFED, as it positions us to continue doing what we do best – providing a unique combination of systems-level issue leadership paired with tools, resources, and support for the businesses and organizations on the ground who are directly driving change.

New Draft National Strategy is a Big Step Forward - But Gaps Remain

Part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “whole-of-government” approach to fighting climate change and advancing a circular economy, much of the strategy covers existing efforts from USDA, EPA, and FDA, but there are also some interesting new initiatives.

New Roadmap Outlines A Path To Significant Reductions In Food Loss And Waste, Emissions

$300M in ready-to-fund philanthropic investments can help transform failing food systems and deliver major climate, economic, and environmental gains.

U.S. Food Waste Pact Engages Businesses Across The Country To Target, Measure, And Act To Reduce Food Waste

The U.S. Food Waste Pact is a new initiative that offers collaboration within and across sectors to help food businesses achieve their sustainability goals by reducing food waste.

Americans Will Waste Nearly 312 Million Pounds of Food This Thanksgiving

ReFED predicts Americans will waste almost 312 million pounds of food this Thanksgiving, impacting our community and the planet. How? We're breaking down the numbers.

Food Waste Funder Circle Member Spotlight: Closed Loop Partners

In this month's Member Spotlight, ReFED sat down with Closed Loop Partners to talk about their role in funding solutions across the food waste space.

Toast Commits to Fight Food Waste with New Innovation and $1M ReFED Grant

The ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund is partnering with Toast.org to support solution providers who are serving up food waste solutions to restaurants.

SPECIAL REPORT: How Insect Farming Can Reduce Food Waste

What can be done about the large amounts of food loss and waste that are destined for landfill? To solve a problem brought on by excess, technology, and industry, humans are turning to nature, and insects are being called to serve.

GUEST BLOG: Unearthing New Technologies – How Black Soldier Flies Help Reduce Food Waste

Reducing surplus food is an overwhelming challenge. Insect agriculture is an exciting new solution that organizations such as Stratium have adopted for reducing food waste by managing nutrient-rich organic materials.

Alex Coari: Driving Capital and Innovation to the Fight Against Food Waste

As ReFED’s Vice President for Capital, Innovation, & Engagement, Alex oversees a team working to catalyze the billions in public, private, and philanthropic capital needed to scale innovation and accelerate the adoption of food waste solutions by food businesses.

Introducing the Future Leaders of Food Waste Reduction in the 2023 EDF Climate Corps Food Waste Fellowship

Launched in 2022, the Climate Corps Food Waste Fellowship offers companies the opportunity to work with a Summer Fellow supported by ReFED and Environmental Defense Fund to design and support the implementation of food waste reduction initiatives to achieve broader climate goals.

Embracing Latino Heritage to Transform our Food System and Reduce Food Waste

Join us this month in celebrating the immense impact of Latino food workers on our food system and their tireless efforts to reduce food waste. Their practices not only nourish our bodies but also our planet for generations to come.

Halfway to 2030: Leveraging State Policy to Halve Food Waste

To help stay abreast of developments in the policy landscape, ReFED and the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic partner to update and maintain the Food Waste Policy Finder, an online resource that allows users to explore legislative and regulatory food waste policies at the federal, state, and local levels.

ALDI Partners with Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment to Help Cut Regional Food Waste in Half by 2030

The retailer’s 99 stores across California will be collaborating with industry peers to share data, best practices, and operational insights to accelerate collective progress in reducing food waste.

ReFED Ranks Among Top Charities

This summer, ReFED joined fewer than a quarter of nonprofits around the nation by earning the highest rating possible – four stars – from Charity Navigator, one of the most trusted sources for third-party verification of U.S. nonprofits.

GUEST BLOG: Seven Metro Detroit Restaurants are First in the U.S. to Receive "The PLEDGE on Food Waste" Certification

The PLEDGE is a global certification program, with a focus on food waste prevention, motivating <a href="https://refed.org/our-work/business-services">food service businesses</a> to monitor and reduce waste and establish new standards of excellence that are linked with sustainability.

Patrick J. McGovern Foundation Partners with ReFED to Advance AI and Data Solutions to Fight Food Waste

ReFED is excited to announce that we have been awarded a transformative grant from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation to further improve our understanding of how data and technology can be leveraged to reduce food waste at scale.

GUEST BLOG: Food Processors Can Reduce Waste While Increasing Profitability – Here’s How

The most significant barrier to recovering food waste is the time and cost of transporting heavy, high-moisture foods before they begin to decompose. Stabilizing them at the food processing facility before transportation is critical.

How Retail Surplus Data from the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment Is Improving ReFED's Food Waste Models

The PCFWC retail surplus data represents the only U.S. retail food waste measurement that is repeated consistently, and it perfectly aligns with ReFED data models that estimate overall food waste in the retail sector for the entire country.

Food Waste and JEDI: LGBTQIA+ Intersections

Building on our recently published landscape assessment – "Building a Food System that Works for Everyone: A Look at the Intersection of Food Waste with Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion" – we’re sharing additional research and information about issues specifically affecting the LGBTQIA+ community.

Amount of Philanthropic Funding into Food Waste Solutions Is Insufficient to Meet Needs

ReFED estimates that $1.4B in non-governmental, philanthropic funding is needed annually to put the country on a path to making significant food waste reductions by 2030. But the hard truth is that the historical philanthropic numbers don’t approach the need by a surprisingly large margin.

Food Waste and JEDI: Exploring the Intersections

ReFED’s new landscape assessment offers insights and potential solutions gleaned from nearly three dozen interviews, plus case studies of organizations that are making a difference.

GUEST BLOG: How Martie is Making Sustainability Accessible for Everyone

Through buying surplus and overstock shelf-stable groceries that would otherwise go to waste and offering it to consumers at 40-70% off normal retail prices, Martie allows anyone that is looking to spend less on groceries to automatically make choices that are good for our environment – and their wallets.

Community, Commitment, and Catalyzation at the 2023 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

Reducing food waste has many solutions, and it all begins with a strong community making the commitment to work together. That means entrenching values of inclusion and diversity, as well as the willingness to prioritize pre-competitive sharing and open dialogue.

ReFED's New Estimates on Food Waste in the United States: 2020-2021, Trends, and COVID-19 Impact

Last month, ReFED released the inaugural update to the Insights Engine’s Food Waste Monitor, Solutions Database, Impact Calculator, and Policy Finder. Here's a deeper dive into the numbers and what they mean for decision-makers working to reduce food waste.

Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps® Food Waste Fellowship Partners with ReFED for Second Year in a Row

2023 Fellows support a range of businesses in reducing food waste in their own operations – and beyond.

Key Learnings from the First Open Call of the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund

Estimates from ReFED’s Insights Engine show that consumers are the most significant generators of food waste and point to an enormous “remaining opportunity” of a large volume of food surplus that is currently unaddressed by our modeled solutions. This indicates that the area is ripe for innovation.

GUEST BLOG: Contaminated Food Scraps Bins? Ask These Three Questions to Find Out Why

If you’re a food service or food retail manager at a site with a food scraps diversion program in place, you probably appreciate everything that it takes to keep it going smoothly. And, chances are, you know that bin contamination is one of the most common stumbling blocks such programs face.

Leading NGOs Launch Coalition to Advocate for Food Waste Policy

ReFED joins Natural Resources Defense Council, World Wildlife Fund, and the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic to launch the Zero Food Waste Coalition, a national effort focused on informing and influencing policy at the local, state, and federal levels and sharing policy updates and opportunities for engagement with partners and stakeholders around the country.

ReFED Releases New Food Waste Estimates and Calls for Increased Action by Food System

New data from ReFED’s Insights Engine show little progress in reducing loss and waste throughout the supply chain – but per capita waste appears to be declining.

Alejandro Enamorado: Catalyzing Food Waste Funding with Tools and Insights

As a Senior Manager on the Capital, Innovation, & Engagement team at ReFED, Alejandro monitors and analyzes food waste investment and develops tools and resources to make that information accessible and actionable for capital providers and solution providers alike.

ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund Announces Grants to Seven Organizations to Reduce Consumer Food Waste in First Open Call

The Grant Fund was designed to provide nonprofit and for-profit organizations with impact investments to de-risk and scale high-impact solutions. The grantees have been provided catalytic funding in the form of recoverable and non-recoverable, non-dilutive grants to advance their efforts to fight consumer food waste.

"A Rapidly Closing Window of Opportunity": Latest IPCC Report Urges Immediate Climate Action

The findings are another reminder about the importance of food waste reduction as a key global climate strategy.

International Women’s Day: Expanding Opportunities by Embracing Equity

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

GUEST BLOG: 123,000 Meals Recovered in a Week – Here’s How We Did It

When two of the biggest events of the year happened within the same weekend, Waste Not said “challenge accepted.” And in the end, they recovered more than 123,000 meals in the span of a week.

GUEST BLOG: Food Waste In America: One Big Issue, Many Possible Solutions

35% of all food goes unsold or uneaten in the United States. If this fact doesn’t shock you, it’s probably because you’ve heard it before. America’s food waste problem is common knowledge among stakeholders in the food and beverage industry. So are the environmental, social, and economic issues linked with this gargantuan inefficiency.

Rooted in A Zero Waste Culture: Celebrating Black History Through Food and Ingenuity

Started in 1976, Black History Month is a time to recognize and celebrate the culture and heritage of African Americans throughout history. Black history is fundamentally American history — one steeped in ingenuity, persistence, and invaluable contributions to our nation’s social fabric — and it can often be traced through food.

A Muted 2022 Leads to a Hopeful but Uncertain 2023

After a month of reflecting on 2022, it is safe to say that the overall market slowdown is also affecting food waste funding. However, members of ReFED’s Food Waste Funder Circle remain positive on the space according to our end-of-year sentiment survey.

GUEST BLOG: How Mill is Helping to Make Sure “Food Waste” Stays Food

Mill's output is called "Food Grounds," which takes up about 20% of the space as the uneaten food it comes from. And if you send it back to the company, they'll turn it into chicken feed.

North American Leaders Make Historic Commitment to Food Waste Reduction

Food waste reduction was one of only six climate-focused commitments to come out of the North American Leaders Summit.

How ReFED's Summit Helped Spur Food Waste Prevention Week

In 2023, Food Waste Prevention Week will be a national campaign, with leaders from across the country involved in planning the event. In just two short years, Fiore has leveraged her passion – and the growing food waste community – to start a movement at the local level and take it to a much larger scale.

Looking Ahead: ReFED's 2023 Food Waste Forecast

Each year, ReFED scans the food waste landscape and predicts what we think lies ahead for the food waste movement in the next 12 months. Here’s what we think you’ll see in 2023...

Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment Releases First Three Case Studies

Following two very challenging years in the pandemic, the PCFWC is thrilled to publish the first set of case studies from these intervention projects, in what will become a regular series in 2023 and beyond. These case studies aim to surface learnings and insights that might not otherwise be shared, and to de-risk high-potential strategies that the broader private sector can more widely adopt to reduce food waste.

New Guide To Help Reduce Consumer Food Waste

Champions 12.3 released a new guide on what key stakeholders in the food system can do to help consumers reduce their food waste. It is the result of a long process, as World Resources Institute and others gathered input in various ways.

Food System Takes the Stage at COP27

Major news coming out of the talks is the launch of a new food waste pledge – and agreement around a new fund geared toward climate justice.

Thanksgiving Dinner Will Result in 305 Million Pounds of Food Waste in the U.S.

Americans will waste more than 305 million pounds of food this Thanksgiving. It is difficult to imagine an amount that large, but picture around one pound of food being wasted by every person in the country. That is a serious problem that comes with some very damaging effects – and with inflation on the rise, the effect on people’s wallets will be felt more than usual.

The ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund's Inaugural Open Call is Now Accepting Solutions That Target Consumer Food Waste

Applications are now being accepted for the inaugural open call of the ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund for food waste solutions. For this inaugural call, the Catalytic Grant Fund will focus on enabling consumers to actively reduce wasted food. Letters of Intent must be received by November 30, 2022

GUEST BLOG: How Outdated Liquidation Programs Contribute to Food Waste

Liquidation programs have been a staple of the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturing industry for decades as a strategy to handle excess inventory, but a majority of these companies’ programs are outdated and inefficient. As a result, companies are not recovering money on inventory that doesn’t get sold to primary retailers and are instead disposing of excess inventory and contributing to food waste.

Inaugural Climate Corps Food Waste Fellows Show Impact

Earlier this year ReFED partnered with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to launch the first-ever Climate Corps® Food Waste Fellowship, an exciting opportunity for organizations and leading food businesses to have a dedicated custom-matched graduate student help advance its food waste reduction and climate goals. This partnership represents the first of its kind collaboration between an established, international fellowship program and an organization with deep food and corporate relationships expertise.

Using Data To Deliver Customized Food Waste Solutions

The “Target-Measure-Act” framework is recommended globally to drive food waste reduction efforts, yet many businesses struggle to accurately track food waste throughout their operations. Without this data, they don’t know where to focus their waste reduction efforts, nor how they stack up against others in their industry. It’s a critical challenge that is impeding efforts to achieve 2030 food waste reduction goals.

Food Waste Capital & Innovation News (October 2022)

After 2021's Jump, Food Waste Investment Returns to Normal Levels in 2022

After a record year for U.S. private funding toward food waste in 2021, the total amount of investments in 2022 has seen a leveling off, primarily driven by the challenging macro environment. Most notably, the decline in venture capital activity relative to 2021 (seen below) has made a dent, but it’s important to note that it is closer in line with historical averages. Private equity has followed a similar trajectory to VC, while mergers and acquisitions are down globally but not to the same degree.

Aramark and Compass Group Become Newest Signatories of the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment

Two Foodservice Leaders Set Example of Working Together to Achieve Goal of Cutting Regional Food Waste in Half by 2030

GUEST BLOG: To Reduce Food Waste, Investors and Community Organizations Need To Be At The Table

Food waste is created at every point in our current food supply chain––on the farm, during manufacturing and transportation, on store shelves, at restaurants, and in our homes. Today, most of that uneaten food ends up in landfills, or is otherwise disposed of––an economic dead end, and a social and environmental risk.

GUEST BLOG: The Future of Food Banking

A perfect storm gathers over food rescue in 2022 – hunger is rising, but food donations are decreasing. The pandemic and its effects have made a mess of things. The legacy model of food banking is inadequate for what lies ahead. As a food banker in retail rescue, I’m on the front lines of the fight against falling food donations. People like me across the country have been scrambling to feed our neighbors with dwindling resources. Is this a death knell for food banking? Not quite. But it’s a warning – to survive, we need get moving.

The Food Waste Action Network Continues to Grow

In June 2021 ReFED launched the Food Waste Action Network (FWAN) with the intent of becoming an engaged community of food waste professionals. This article covers the progress and growth of the FWAN since that time.

ReFED Selected As Finalist For Food Planet Prize

The prestigious international award honors innovative initiatives moving our food system toward sustainable practices and provides further confirmation that food waste is a massive - but solvable - challenge.

GUEST BLOG: The Urgent Need for Governments to Commit to Food Loss and Waste

I have a confession: I want to leave my current job by 2030. That is the date the world has set to realize a 50% reduction in food waste. Working for the world’s largest conservation organization on some of the biggest issues that will define our future, including the future of my own children, seems like something most people would be excited about. But the truth is, I wonder each day why it’s so difficult to get the world committed to ending food waste.

Six Things Every Business Can Do to Waste Less Food

If global food waste were a country, it would be the third largest GHG emitter in the world. Yet more than the food industry needs to be involved if we are to make a dent in reducing this problem—and reap the environmental, economic, and social benefits that will yield. Dana Gunders, Executive Director of ReFED, shares easy actions any sustainability leader can take at their own company.

The (Im)perfect Fit

Earlier this month, the imperfect produce channels space took a major step forward toward mainstreaming and potential adoption with the announced acquisition of Imperfect Foods by market leader Misfits Market. What makes this so notable is that they are two market leaders – and two of the first food waste unicorns.

GUEST BLOG: Why Investments In a Circular Food System Need To Happen Now

In the U.S., 35% of the food we produce goes unsold or uneaten. Whether this is because of too much food produced, too little harvested, food spoilage, or not recognizing the economic value of food byproducts, most of this surplus food ends up in the 1,000+ landfills operated around the country. If we look at U.S. landfills today, food makes up almost a quarter of the materials in them. A lot can be done to improve the resource efficiency of our food system today––and within this work lies a critical path to positive environmental impact and significant economic opportunity. According to the leading food waste non-profit organization ReFED, uneaten food is a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions today, generating 4% of U.S. and up to 10% of global emissions annually. These emissions come from many sources, ranging from unnecessary forestland conversion to excess energy use in food over-production to methane emissions during food waste decomposition.

GUEST BLOG: Sorry - But We Need Environmental Realism to Bring Sustainability to Scale

Whether you believe in climate change or not, this is just becoming a math equation.  Resources are going down, while population and consumption are going up.  Justin Kamine from Do Good Foods explains his vision for using consumerist models to solve environmental challenges.

Introducing ReFED's New Board Chair: Pamela Murphy

Pamela Murphy is a philanthropist and nonprofit board leader who joined ReFED’s Board of Directors in 2021. She has a background in finance corporate and management consulting, and has worked with nonprofits for nearly fifteen years with the sole goal of helping them achieve their environmental missions.

ReFED Donor Profile: The Tepper Foundation

How do nonprofits and foundations meet? Sometimes it’s through a board or staff member. Sometimes it’s an introduction from a peer or other supporter. Increasingly, philanthropists are seeking the advice and counsel of professionals who help them put their money to work on the issues they care about. That’s the role the Climate Leadership Institute (CLI) plays as they bring more and more funders to address the crisis of climate change. And as a long-time partner of ReFED, CLI made a match in late 2020 that is making big things happen – ReFED and The Tepper Foundation.

Fresh Del Monte Joins the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment to Help Cut Regional Food Waste in Half by 2030

As the First Grower to Sign On, Fresh Del Monte Sets a New Standard for Brands to Work Together to Achieve Their Sustainability Goals

Latino and Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrating Diversity in the Fight Against Food Waste

In honor of Latino and Hispanic Heritage Month, we have gathered some of the news and resources at the intersection of food waste and the Latino community.

Inflation: How It's Affecting Food Waste

ReFED hosted a webinar to get at that question. Moderated by ReFED’s Jackie Suggitt, with expert panelists Dr. Brenna Ellison from Purdue University, Konstantin Zvereff from Blue Cart, and Erika Thiem from Feeding America, the discussion covered what we do and don’t know about how inflation is really affecting food waste across the food system.

Uncertainty in Funding Markets, Need Remains

It is safe to say that we have entered a strange and challenging funding environment brought about by inflation and economic uncertainty – the two, of course, are inevitably linked. It is well publicized that in Q2 of this year, there was a 22% decline in investment in early stage venture (Series A and B) from the prior year period. This is important to note given that many for-profit companies in the food waste sector – particularly those in the Prevention solutions category – are still in the early stages of development and are heavily dependent on this capital. We have seen this trend emerge in our tracking of private food waste investment, and our projections show that this year’s funding volumes are on-track to be lower than 2021.

Transforming the Grantmaker-Grantee Relationship: Lessons from The ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund Listening Tour

As the ReFED team started to strategize and craft the operations and processes that would be used to execute the Grant Fund, we recognized the opportunity to challenge how grantmaking has been done historically by evolving our standard operating processes to address the ways in which past philanthropic activities have contributed to systemic inequalities.

Nicola Dixon: ReFED’s Outgoing Board Chair on What Was Accomplished and What Lies Ahead

As a true food waste champion and experienced impact leader, Nicola’s insights and expertise were invaluable to ReFED as we navigated the initial years of being a national nonprofit organization, as well as the fallout from COVID-19’s effects on the food system.

Cutting Food Waste at the 2022 Summit – And at Your Next Event

The catering at the Food Waste Solutions Summit is important, not only because it brings us together and facilitates meaningful connection, but because it's an opportunity to change the narrative about abundance and innovate new models for reducing food waste at events. This year, we kept the total food wasted during the three days of the Summit to just under 30 pounds total – 95% less than what's wasted at comparable events. Here's what we did...

GUEST BLOG: UN’s Food Security and Nutrition report underscores need for action against food waste

This post was written by guest author Sophie Tedesco, Food & Agriculture Intern, and edited by Danielle Melgar, Food & Agriculture Advocate The United Nations (U.N.) just released its annual The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report, highlighting the alarming number of people facing hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide. The findings of this report emphasize the need for reforms in our global food system to help people facing hunger and work towards the U.N. target of eliminating world hunger by 2030. One global priority must be reducing food loss and waste because it keeps food from people who need it and worsens climate change, which is threatening the international food supply.

How Technology is Empowering Food Rescue

We're excited to see how the food rescue space is working together to expand the use of customer-oriented technological solutions that help get food to the people who need it most.

Upcycled Food Association Comes Full Circle At ReFED Solutions Summit

In 2019, just before the ReFED Food Waste Summit in San Francisco, Turner Wyatt made a call that would change the food waste landscape. He phoned ReFED founder Jesse Fink with a proposition – to help him get a group of people to the Summit in order to sign papers of inception for a new nonprofit that Wyatt had been working on with a handful of others. Recognizing the potential, Fink became the first funder of the UFA. “No one does that, you don’t just make donations to an organization that doesn’t exist yet. Jesse has this way of seeing the future,” said Wyatt. With that, the Upcycled Food Association (UFA) was officially started, with Wyatt serving as the CEO.

Drawdown Update Affirms Reducing Food Waste as a Leading Solution to Climate Change

Last week, Project Drawdown released a major update to its landmark 2017 analysis of how the global community can implement currently available and readily scalable solutions to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Food waste reduction remains the #1 solution under the scenario that limits end-of-century warming to 2°C! In the more ambitious scenario limiting warming to 1.5°C, projections for dramatic electrification and grid decarbonization put Onshore Wind and Utility-Scale Solar at #1 and #2 - Reducing Food Waste comes in at #4, just after Plant-Rich Diet.

Building Equity into the Food Waste Movement

ReFED has been working to educate ourselves on how efforts to reduce food waste intersect with inequities within the food system, and our hope is that this these efforts will identify areas for improvement both within ReFED and among the broader food waste community – and serve as a source for inspiration and ideas as we collectively work to enhance equity and make room for voices that have historically been marginalized.

SEC Climate Related Disclosures and the Potential Impact for Food Businesses

The comment period for the proposed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule “Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors” concluded on June 17, after collecting more than 10,000 responses that ran the full range of emotions from exhilarated applause to indignant outrage. The part of the proposed rule that has generated the most controversy is its intent to require disclosure of Scope 3 (indirect or value chain) GHG emissions for companies where they reflect a “material” component of overall emissions. On one hand, commenters who oppose the requirement point out that measuring Scope 3 emissions is a challenging and costly exercise that unduly burdens companies and their suppliers, and often the resulting information is not actionable for the reporting company anyway. On the other hand, commenters in favor of the requirement assert that climate-related risks have become, in many cases, a material risk to investors, and companies have an obligation to understand and attempt to quantify the extent to which they are contributing to these risks.

A Round-Up of State Policy Initiatives in 2022

Effective policy at the state level is a critical lever for reducing food loss and waste, and state legislative bodies have been busy over the past months and year introducing and passing policies tackling food loss and waste. Since January 2022, states have introduced or actively carried over 70 bills on food loss and waste, 14 of which passed (a roundup of all 2021 bills is available here).

GUEST BLOG: How UpRoot is Reconnecting People To The Food System

UpRoot Colorado works to create these opportunities for reconnection. We work with geographically- and demographically-diverse communities across the state of Colorado—and are deliberately working to broaden the diversity of people who are represented in our work— to divert surplus food from farm fields and orchards to members of our communities who want and need it.

Juneteenth: Celebrating with Community and Food

At ReFED, we recognize that food and community are inseparable. To commune is to come together as a group and share resources. Breaking bread as tradition goes all the way back in time. Almost all holidays have some kind of food associated with them. Whether it is the Thanksgiving turkey or Ramadan’s iftar, food, community, and celebration go hand in hand. Juneteenth is no exception.

How to Design Packaging to Prevent Food Waste

We often ask if our food packaging is recyclable, but why don’t we ask if it’s contributing to food waste? Packaging plays an important role in protecting food until it reaches the consumer, but it can also reduce food waste at home by serving as a storage container, making contents easy to access, and communicating how to cook with the product. At the same time, packaging can make it difficult to access content (like condiments), become damaged or fail in ways that cause food to spoil, or lead someone to buy more than they need – all of which can lead to food waste. Beyond that, packaging materials themselves often become waste, contributing up to 28% of what ends up in landfills.

USDA Addresses Supply Chain Issues, Adds Resilience and Fairness to Food System Goals

In response to disruptions of the food supply chain and the need to transform the food system to be more fair, competitive, and resilient, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) framework on June 1 in Washington, DC. According to USDA, the goal of this framework is to create “more and better markets that will benefit both producers and consumers, as well as address longstanding issues intensified by the pandemic” – and several of its components have the potential to reduce food waste.

Three Days of Insights, Inspiration, and Action

Presented by ReFED, the first Food Waste Solutions Summit in more than two years took place May 10-12 in Minneapolis, with more than 640 people joining either in-person or virtually. This was the largest gathering of the ReFED community to date, and while the last two years have been far from slow, the event was a good reminder of the real purpose of meeting people face-to-face – community building, inspiration, acceleration, and celebration.

ReFED and Closed Loop Partners Announce Funding Platform Targeted to Raise $100M for Food Waste Solutions with Support from Google and The Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation

Growing awareness in food waste reduction as a top climate change solution is driving increased interest among funders to invest in the space.

How EatOrToss is Empowering Consumers to Waste Less by Understanding their Food Better

Say you’re preparing dinner, and one of your ingredients doesn’t look quite right. Maybe your sweet potato is sprouting. Or your apples have odd spots. Perhaps your avocado is a festival of little brown dots.  You don’t want to waste the food. But you also don’t want to make your family sick.  This, I hope, is where EatOrToss.com comes in.

GUEST BLOG: Are You Gonna Eat That?

What’s so bad about a bunch of food in landfills? Isn’t it better than plastic bags and old shoes? Won’t it just decompose and become dirt? Unfortunately not.

ReFED Data Reveal Private Investment into Food Waste Solutions Topped $7.8 Billion Since 2011 – Including a Record $2 Billion in 2021 Alone

The Past Ten Years Saw a Steady Acceleration in the Quantity and Size of Food Waste Deals, As More Funders Recognize the Environmental, Economic, and Social Benefits the Space Offers.

24 Hours A Day - The True Cost of Time Within our Food System

An art installation curated for the Food Waste Solutions Summit that illustrates the concept of ‘time’ as valued through the disparate relationships that various communities in Minnesota and beyond have with food.

ReFED and EDF Announce Private Sector Partners for 2022 Climate Corps Food Waste Fellowship

The effort supports the growing number of brands that are making public commitments to reduce food waste but aren't always able to advance their reduction strategy efficiently without additional resources to drive progress.

Examining Plastic and Food Waste: A Package Deal

Plastic is cheap and lightweight but also protective – keeping food products clean, safe, convenient, and often helping them last longer. That last point is arguably the most important in a growing debate over society’s use of plastic and a recognition that reducing food waste is one of the most effective ways to cut global greenhouse gas emissions.

GUEST BLOG: Geopolitics, Fertilizers, and… Food Waste?

ReFED’s Roadmap to 2030 highlights that “Maximum Product Utilization” is critical to developing a closed loop food system. Guest author Riyana Razalee, Head of Business Development at Re-Nuble discusses how current geopolitical events increase the urgency to adopt solutions that upcycle previously unused waste streams.

The Next Farm Bill Can Save Money, Reduce Food Waste, Address Hunger, and Combat Climate Change

New report details how Congress can tackle pervasive food waste – and the substantial benefits it would bring.

IPCC Reports Give a Stark Reminder of What Is Needed to Meet Climate Goals

The future depends not only on how we cut down emissions, but just as importantly how we respond to the challenge of living with the changes already underway.

New Data Will Serve a Critical Role in Helping Food Businesses Along the West Coast Reduce Food Waste

First of its kind data reporting from the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment shows unsold food rates, waste destinations, and impacts.

Food Waste Reduction at Google and Beyond: Back to Basics

Can reducing food waste be more difficult than rocket science? Maybe not, but when an organization is serving tens of millions of meals per year at locations across the world, it can certainly be a complex issue. Recently ReFED Executive Director Dana Gunders sat down with Emily Ma, Head of Food For Good at Google (and a ReFED Board member) to discuss Google’s journey into food waste initiatives, the critical role of data, and how the pandemic helped spur action on food waste and food insecurity, among other topics. 

GUEST BLOG: Combating Climate Change Through Upcycled Candy

Fruits and vegetables are the most wasted product and have the highest climate impact. We can minimize environmental impact by putting all these fruits and vegetables to use by utilizing the whole food with their vitamins and nutrients.

Thinking Creatively About Capital: Blended Finance

While it's still in its infancy, blended finance has achieved recognition and attention as an emerging solution to the private capital funding gap for meeting Sustainable Development Goals – including food waste.

Supply Chain Woes Likely to Continue for “Decades, Not Years”

Considering the domino effects of one problem leading to another, solutions are not easy, which is one reason experts expect the current status quo to continue for some time.

People Matter Too – Why Community-Led Solutions Help Address Food Waste and Build Power

Without input from community members on their needs, an entire half of the equation is missing, which doesn’t address the food waste problem holistically and causes harm to communities receiving food.

Walmart and Sodexo Join Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment to Help Cut Regional Food Waste in Half by 2030

Their participation extends their efforts to fight food waste and serves as an inspiration for other businesses to do their part.

Celebrating Female-founded & Female-led Food Waste Solution Providers

ReFED is celebrating and amplifying inspiring female leaders working across the food system to ensure we make the best use of the food we grow.

ReFED Announces Upcoming $10 Million Catalytic Grant Fund with Anchor Funding from Google

Today, ReFED announced that Google is providing $1 million in anchor funding for the upcoming ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund, a new five-year initiative designed to provide non-dilutive and patient capital that de-risks and scales food waste solutions with the potential for high impact.

Legislative and Regulatory Action to Reduce Food Waste

Policy is a critical lever for accelerating the adoption of food waste reduction solutions at a large scale – and 2021 was a watershed year for food waste policy at all levels of government.

Special Report: 2022 in Food Waste Investment

Food waste has established itself as an emerging business category driven by a growing focus on climate change, concerns about supply chain disruptions (which are leading to higher costs), and validation from food waste success stories- we remain excited about the opportunities that 2022 will bring.

Tackling Rising Food Prices and Food Waste in 2022

In this environment of uncertainty, scarcity, and higher prices, reducing food waste becomes even more critical, because it reduces costs and controls supply chain risks.

GUEST BLOG: Fighting Climate Change with Food

Farming using sustainable, regenerative agricultural practices can help mitigate climate change and grow healthier food.

Food Scraps Could Change the Game - But Not Without Help - ReFED

Recycling and composting offer the opportunity to divert almost 21 million tons of food waste annually, but government grants and regulations are needed to help spur change.

EPA Report: The Environmental Impacts of Food Waste, Part 1 - ReFED

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a new report on the environmental footprint of food loss and waste in the U.S.

ReFED and Upcycled Food Association Launch Food Waste Funder Circle to Empower Capital Providers to Close the Food Waste Funding Gap

New network supports private, public, and philanthropic funders to drive capital needed to reach 50% food waste reduction goal by 2030.

TWC Announced $1 Million for Wonderful Innovation Challenge Winners

ReFED partnered with The Wonderful Company on the global contest to design solutions for 50,000 tons of pomegranate husks to reduce food waste and create a more sustainable supply chain.

Thankful You're Thinking About Food Waste - ReFED

Tips from ReFED on how you can minimize food waste this Thanksgiving.

EPA Makes a Major Change to its Definition of “Food Waste” - ReFED

An ambitious new baseline for measuring progress toward 2030 now classifies any food leaving the human supply chain as waste.

ReFED Releases 2022 Food Waste Forecast and Predicts More Than 300 Million Pounds of Food Will Go To Waste This Thanksgiving Alone

From Local Government Policy to Multinational Business Initiatives, ReFED Outlines What Trends to Expect in the Global Effort to End Food Waste

“Following the Roadmap”: Recycle Anything Remaining - ReFED

Capturing nutrients, energy, or other residual value for any food or food scraps that remain offers one of the largest opportunities for decreasing the amount of food going to waste in our food system.

Closed Loop Partners Collaborates with PepsiCo, the NextGen Consortium & Other Leading Brands to Advance Composting Infrastructure & Recover Compostable Packaging and Food Scraps

ReFED serves as Advisory Partner for the new Composting Consortium, which aims to pilot industry-wide solutions and build a roadmap for investment in technologies and infrastructure to address the growth in production of compostable food packaging

Why We Should Tackle Methane Emissions Through Food Waste Reductions

Targeting methane sources like food waste now can reduce atmospheric GHG concentrations in just a decade or two.

The Obstacles to More Efficient Food Rescue and Donation are Challenging – but Eminently Solvable

By partnering with food rescue professionals, businesses can overcome the “what ifs” that are sometimes associated with food donations.

Following the Roadmap: Strengthen Food Rescue - ReFED

A stronger food rescue system requires expanded storage, transportation, and staffing capacity within food rescue organizations – as well as a consistent flow of goods from food business donations.

Scaling Action: Opportunities for Food Waste Solution Providers to Engage with ReFED

Learn how you, as a solution provider, can partner with ReFED to reduce food waste.

Reshaping Consumer Environments to Promote Waste Reduction

Consumers are the biggest contributors to food waste, and while each of us can make our own small dent in the problem, we also need foodservice operators, restaurants, and retailers to push us in the right direction.

ReFED and Environmental Defense Fund Launch New Resource to Help Companies Cut Food Waste

Climate Corps® Food Waste Fellows are dedicated, third-party experts providing data-driven knowledge that can help advance strategic food waste initiatives.

Donor Profile: The Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh - ReFED

The Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh is one of the leading families that have identified food waste in their philanthropic portfolio due to the environmental impact.

Following the Roadmap: Reshape Consumer Environments - ReFED

Most food waste is generated at the household level, but it’s frequently due to decisions made by actors throughout the supply chain. Here’s how they can help consumers manage food better.

New Innovations Bring Value To Surplus Food

Finding value in foods or leftovers usually deemed worthless is an exciting and essential strategy for tackling food waste across the supply chain.

Upcycling, Edible Coatings, and Other Solutions to Cut Food Waste By Maximizing Product Utilization

Rethinking the concept of “waste” can open new doors for innovation and investment.

Food Waste Reduction Can Help Protect The Planet From Climate Change Effects

There is still time to prevent global warming from rising even more – and reducing food waste can have a major impact on the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

Following the Roadmap: Maximize Product Utilization - ReFED

Rethinking the concept of “waste” can open new doors for innovation and investment – thus finding greater value in items or parts usually deemed worthless.

Overcoming Food Waste Hurdles At The Olympics - ReFED

The COVID-related restrictions implemented this year in Tokyo provide a fascinating experiment that could guide future food waste reduction strategies.

Eliminating The False Choice Between Customer Satisfaction and Food Waste

New technology provides data and insights that allow retailers to better forecast what customers will buy and find new ways to sell perishable foods before they end up in the trash.

ReFED and Partners Welcome New Bill to Fight U.S. Food Waste And Build A Better Food System

The Zero Food Waste Act would support state, local, and tribal communities making the policy changes and infrastructure investments needed to cut food waste in half by 2030.

Dynamic Pricing and Other Product Management Solutions to Cut Food Waste

Artificial intelligence and machine learning can cut waste during product handling – and so can some basic best practices.

Following the Roadmap: Refine Product Management - ReFED

Ineffective or unsophisticated product management processes and procedures lead to wasted food across the supply chain – implementing solutions to improve management of products can result in an annual net financial benefit of $15.8 billion.

LGBTQIA+ Food Insecurity: Causes, Solutions & Support Organizations

LGBTQIA + Americans are at greater risk of experiencing food insecurity. But a network of organizations are finding ways to help them.

Tracking Food From Farm To Table: New Technology for Smart Solutions

Food’s journey through packing houses, on trucks, and into storage and distribution centers has an enormous impact on its quality, flavor, and whether it ultimately gets eaten or thrown in the trash.

Following The Roadmap: Enhance Product Distribution - ReFED

Enhancing product distribution means creating smart systems that efficiently move products to maximize freshness – and ultimately selling time.

New Food Waste Action Network Will Help Spur Solution Adoption Across the Food System

Join the new ReFED Food Waste Action Network to connect and collaborate with food businesses, funders, subject matter experts, researchers, government agencies, food waste solution providers, and more - ultimately driving action toward our collective goal of reducing U.S. food waste by 50% by 2030.

How The Drive For Efficiency Builds Waste Into The System

A key byproduct of the perfect produce aisle? A vast amount of waste, which taxes environmental resources and drives prices up.

ReFED’s Proposal to Mandate Food Waste Reduction Recognized As Top Idea by The CLEEN Project

A proposal by Dana Gunders, ReFED’s Executive Director, was recently voted as The CLEEN Project’s “top 3” ideas to decarbonize the food system and improve public health.

Following the Roadmap: Optimize The Harvest - ReFED

Optimizing the harvest means aligning what's grown with what's ultimately harvested – and can result in $8 billion of net financial benefit.

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill Can Help Curb Food Waste - ReFED

A new report by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, Natural Resources Defense Council, and ReFED shares 14 recommendations for Congress.

Making An Impact On Stop Food Waste Day - ReFED

The “Food Waste Five” are five easy-to-use strategies that can help you implement a food waste reduction program right in your own home.

An Earth Day Message From ReFED Inc

The theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Restore Our Earth,” and it has particular resonance for those connected to the food system – after being battered by the pandemic, the food system needs restoring now more than ever.

Cut Food Waste With These Top Solutions - ReFED

Food waste reduction solutions already exist – and businesses and organizations are figuring out new ways to address the problem every day.

A Call To Action On U.S. Food Loss And Waste Policy

ReFED joins The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, Natural Resources Defense Council, and World Wildlife Fund in developing policy recommendations for the Biden administration and Congress.

How Reducing Food Waste Can Help Solve The Climate Crisis - ReFED

An investment of $14 billion a year over the next decade can eliminate 45 million tons of food waste each year. That translates into a reduction of 75 million tons of greenhouse gases – the equivalent of taking 16 million cars off the road each year.

The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation Leverages Findings from ReFED's Insights Engine for $2.5M Open Call

ReFED’s resources are helping the effort in two primary ways – understanding market trends and measuring impact potential.

Manufacturers’ Association Food Northwest Joins PCC Effort to Cut Food Waste in Half, Underscoring the Need for Action across the Supply Chain

Food Northwest’s commitment can help significantly advance progress toward PCC's goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030.

PCC Food Waste Reduction Initiative Releases Report Showing 2020 Progress

ReFED is a resource partner for the public-private partnership working to create a less wasteful food system – with the goal of making significant reductions in carbon emissions and contributing to the health and economic success of the West Coast region.

ReFED Appears at "Future of Food" Event at SXSW 21

What will the future food system look like? How can we ensure that it's sustainable, resilient, and inclusive? ReFED team members join the discussion during a special event series at the annual festival.

Driving Impact with Catalytic Capital - ReFED

Why is catalytic capital so important? Here's how it can smooth the way for additional investment from other capital types.

Fighting Climate Change by Investing in Food Waste Reduction - ReFED

Climate change has already impacted the way we live, how we do business, and more. Fighting it is an existential imperative – and investing in food waste reduction solutions is a core approach for doing so.

Seven Areas for Taking Action to Reduce Food Waste - ReFED

These are the seven areas where the food system must focus its efforts to make a meaningful reduction in the amount of food going to waste across the supply chain.

The Critical Role of Capital in the Fight Against Food Waste - ReFED

Capital providers of all types play an integral role in funding the development and adoption of food waste reduction solutions.

New Data from ReFED Reveals Amount of Food Waste Has Leveled Off After Increasing 11.9% Since 2010

While this shows that food waste reduction efforts are starting to make an impact, more needs to be done to achieve the nation's 2030 reduction goal.

How COVID-19 Has Affected Food Waste – and How the Food System Has Responded

Initial estimates suggest that the early days of the pandemic saw large increases in food waste – but the long-term result might actually be a decrease.

Key Findings From The ReFED's new Insights Engine

The Insights Engine is an online data center built from 50 public and proprietary datasets to show a granular analysis of food waste across the U.S. Here's what our analysis found.

ReFED Launches $10 Million Fundraising Campaign to Support Food System in Reducing Food Waste by 50% by the Year 2030

New campaign highlights the impact of food waste on the climate, food security, and the economy.

The Wonderful Company Launches $1 Million Innovation Challenge - ReFED

ReFED serves as strategic advisor and managing partner for the global contest to discover environmentally-friendly solutions for pomegranate husks.

SPOTLIGHT: ReFED Inc Board of Directors Member Emily Ma

An interview with Emily Ma, who leads two early-stage moonshots at X, a stealth group within Alphabet, and who is bringing her passion for food systems and human-centered design to ReFED's Board.

Pacific Coast Collaborative to Lead One of the Largest Public-Private Partnerships to Reduce Food Waste

The collaboration – with ReFED as a resource partner – calls on businesses to join a Voluntary Agreement to implement measurable action to cut food waste in half by 2030.

New Guidelines Help Foodservice Businesses Include Food Waste Reduction in their COVID-19 Operating Plans

Get the new handout created by ReFED, the James Beard Foundation, LeanPath, Sodexo, and WWF.

New ReFED Report Offers Organizations Across the Food System A Guide For Scaling Food Recovery And Hunger Relief Efforts

The report includes best practices, case studies, and expert advice for the entire food system on how to support innovative food recovery organizations as they scale their work to reduce food waste and fight hunger.

A Message From Jesse Fink, ReFED Incs Inaugural Board Chair

"As I finish my tenure as Founding Board Chair, I wanted to express my deepest gratitude for all that you have done and continue to do to accelerate solutions to food waste."

ReFED’s COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund Awards $1M to Organizations Rescuing Food And Delivering it to the Most Vulnerable Communities

As the Coronavirus Pandemic Continues to Disrupt the Food System, Much More Funding is Needed for These and Other Front-Line Organizations.

Announcing the ReFED Inc COVID-19 Food Waste Solutions Fund

Donate and learn how to apply for funding to advance solutions that prevent or recover food being wasted at the farm level due to COVID-19 disrputions.

Resources to Move Food from Farm to Table during COVID-19 - ReFED

Here's a list of resources and organizations helping to reduce the surge of food waste on the farm level due to COVID-19 supply chain disruptions.

'Join our Webinars - "Better Together: Food System Best Practices for Navigating COVID-19"'

ReFED's new weekly discussion series focuses on how to overcome the challenges facing food waste solution providers and food businesses in the age of COVID-19.

ReFED's Directory of Fundable Initiatives for COVID-19 Support

Get details on organizations that need support right now to enact new safety measures, hire more drivers, establish “rapid response” services, conduct direct distribution to those in need, build new partnerships to facilitate their ongoing outreach, and more.

ReFED Inc'S COVID-19 U.S. Food System Review

Learn more about the changes occurring throughout the U.S. food system as a result of COVID-19.

Food Waste Resources During The COVID-19 Pandemic - ReFED

Here's how you can help ensure that excess food due to COVID-19 reaches the people who need it most.

Announcing ReFED Incs New Executive Director

ReFED is excited to announce that Dana Gunders has become our new Executive Director

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Jessica Grace Torres from City Harvest

Check out this interview with Jessica Grace Torres, Director of Business Intelligence at City Harvest, to learn more about City Harvest’s technology solutions geared towards alleviating hunger amongst food insecure New Yorkers.

ReFED announces Plentiful as $100,000 Winner of Industry-First Nonprofit Food Recovery Accelerator

The three-month program concluded with an in-person Showcase co-hosted by ReFED and Feeding America and a commitment from DoorDash to support food recovery.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Jasmine Crowe from Goodr

Check out this interview with Jasmine Crowe, Founder of Goodr, to learn more about how their blockchain-enabled platform and mobile app redirects surplus food from landfills to those in need.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Hannah, Blue Apron

Check out this interview with Hannah Koski, Director of Procurement and Sustainability at Blue Apron, to learn how their innovative model reduces household waste and improves access to delicious, fresh and healthy ingredients.

November 2019 Newsletter

A Message from the Board of Directors, A Letter from our Inaugural Executive Director, Chris Cochran, Dana Gunders: ReFED&rsquo;s Interim Executive Director, and Highlights from the 2019 Food Waste Summit, hosted by ReFED

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Leah Lizarondo from 412 Food Rescue

Check out this interview with Leah Lizarondo, Founder of 412 Food Rescue to learn how to develop a portfolio of initiatives to combat hunger and change behavior around food waste.

10 Reasons Why The 2019 Food Waste Summit was the Place to Be

The 2019 Food Waste Summit hosted by ReFED championed awareness to action to reduce food waste in half by 2030. Check out the top 10 highlights from the event.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Rebeckah Piotrowski from City Harvest

In this week's interview, we hear from Rebeckah Piotrowski, Director of Institutional Partnerships at City Harvest to learn more about their mission-aligned partnerships that scale their impact to end hunger in New York.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Nicole Flewell from Taylor Farms

Check out this interview with Nicole Flewell, Director of Sustainability at Taylor Farms, where she delves into the opportunities she sees for nonprofit organizations to bring fresh prepared food to low-income individuals.

Morton is Salty About Food Waste - ReFED

A huge thank you to Morton Salt for their support and participation in the 2019 Food Waste Summit hosted by ReFED and their commitment to Erase Food Waste.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Robert from LA Kitchen

Check out this interview with Robert Egger, founder of LA Kitchen, DC Central Kitchen and Campus Kitchens Project, who shared lessons learned from years of working on issues of food waste, food insecurity, and workforce development.

Fueling an Actionable and Data-Driven Path to Fight Food Waste

ReFED is pleased to announce that we are launching the ReFED Insights Engine, a digital-first, continuously updated platform to house the next generation of data, insights and guidance on food waste and solutions. Thank you to our seed funders for investing in and partnering on the initial stages of this work, in particular The Kroger Co. Foundation, Deloitte and Nielsen

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Thomas McQuillan from Baldor Specialty Foods

Check out this interview with Thomas McQuillan, Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Culture and Sustainability at Baldor Specialty Foods, to learn about his work implementing major sustainability initiatives throughout their foodservice operations.

Press Release: ReFED Accelerates Action to Cut Food Waste in Half by 2030 at 2019 Food Waste Summit

Today, ReFED, the only U.S. nonprofit wholly dedicated to reducing food waste, announced the annual ReFED Food Waste Summit taking place October 28-30, 2019 at METREON in San Francisco.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Kari Armbruster from The Kroger Co.

Check out this interview with Kari Armbruster, Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Project Manager at Kroger, to learn about their strategies for ending hunger in Kroger communities and eliminating waste across their company by 2025.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Eric Davis & Justin Block, Feeding America

Check out this interview with Eric Davis and Justin Block of Feeding America, where they discuss how they leverage technology and innovation to support their nationwide network of 200 member food banks.

When Innovation Meets Accelerated Knowledge: Championing Human-Centered Design to Create a More Equitable and Impactful Food Recovery System

ReFED hosts the first in-person Learning Lab for the Nonprofit Food Recovery Accelerator 2019 cohort in San Francisco, CA.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Nell Fry from Sodexo

Check out this interview with Nell Fry, Senior Manager of Sustainability Field Support at Sodexo, where she shares her strategy for reducing waste, carbon and water usage at 13,000 food service sites across North America.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Doug Rauch, Daily Table

Check out this interview with Doug Rauch of Daily Table, who applied lessons from his extensive retail career at Trader Joe’s to build an enjoyable shopping experience that promotes dignity and helps low-income customers access nutritious, affordable food.

Accelerator Expert Network Knowledge Series: Bill Reighard, Food Donation Connection

Check out this interview with Bill Reighard of Food Donation Connection, who leveraged his industry knowledge overseeing operations at PepsiCo to launch a for-profit food recovery company that has coordinated more than 550m pounds of food over the past 25 years.

ReFED Announces Cohort for Industry-First Nonprofit Food Recovery Accelerator

The diverse group of ten food recovery nonprofits come from eight states across the U.S. and range from established food banks to young startups that leverage concepts from the sharing economy for recovering wasted food in a dignified, scalable way.

ReFED, Inc. Nonprofit Food Recovery Accelerator&colon; Open Call Analytics

Over 125 diverse applicants responded to the Open Call for Applications. See some facts about them below.

A Helpful Move on Food Date Labels - ReFED Inc.

This blog was co-authored by JoAnne Berkenkamp at NRDC, Katie Sandson and Emily Broad Leib at the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, and Jackie Suggitt at ReFED.

ReFED Launches Nonprofit Accelerator, Funded by Walmart Foundation, to Double Food Donations

Open Call for Applications starts today for the three-month Accelerator that will offer $350,000 in prizes and extensive access to ReFED’s expert network.

New ingredients key to sustainable growth: Earned revenue and technology at food recovery nonprofits

In 2018, 81% of Feeding America’s donations were recovered meals, yet this represents only ~5% of the 36 million tons of unsold food inventory generated within the food value chain each year.

ReFED Inc Capital & Innovation Newsletter: November 2018

ReFED's quarterly update on the entrepreneurs and investors fighting food waste.

Press Release: ReFED’s 2018 U.S. Food Waste Investment Report Reveals Foundation Funding Reached $134 Million in 2016; VC Funding Reaches $125M in 2018

ReFED's 2018 U.S. Food Waste Investment Report details key trends in the capital and innovation landscape and highlights specific examples of philanthropic, public, and private food waste investment, including a Special Report on Foundation Funding.

Goodr and Pulp Pantry Take First Place and Runner Up at ReFED's Food Waste Innovation Demo Day

ReFED Hosts First Food Waste Innovation Demo Day at SOCAP, Announces Release of Food Waste Investment Report

ReFED Inc's Innovator Spotlight: Food Forward

ReFED interviews Southern California food recovery organization Food Forward to learn how they plan to grow their operations and scale their impact.

Retail, Restaurant, and Foodservice Webinars - ReFED

In these webinars, ReFED hosts grocery, restaurant, and foodservice leaders to discuss insights from the Food Waste Action Guides and the successes they've had implementing food waste solutions.

New Goals & Progress Towards Wasting Less Food

Join ReFED and partners for this Global Climate Change Action Summit event exploring the connection between food waste and climate change.

ReFED Inc Capital & Innovation Newsletter: August 2018

ReFED's quarterly update on the entrepreneurs and investors fighting food waste.

Diverse group at Innovator Workshop accelerates food waste solutions

Our takeaways from the U.S. Food Waste Summit Innovator Workshop, which convened food waste innovators, food businesses, funders, and policymakers to shape the future of food waste solutions provision.

ReFED Partners with Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic to Host 2018 U.S. Food Waste Summit

Taking place June 26-27 at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA, the Summit will convene more than 300 leaders from across the public, private and nonprofit sectors to accelerate solutions to food waste and achieve the national goal to cut food waste in half by 2030.

Food Waste Funders Meet to Fuel Further Impact - ReFED Inc

Last month 16 food waste thought leaders met in an industrial corner of San Francisco to discuss the future of food waste capital and innovation. The event held at the headquarters and warehouse operations of food waste innovator, Imperfect Produce, was organized by Alexandria Coari, Capital & Innovation Director for ReFED, as part of the nonprofit’s Food Waste Funders Initiative.

Food Waste Prevention Packaging RFP - ReFED

ReFED is currently accepting proposals to develop a multistakeholder project plan to address food waste prevention packaging. All proposals in response to this RFP are due no later than 11:59pm PST May 16, 2018.

Innovator Workshop at the U.S. Food Waste Summit - ReFED

ReFED is cohosting a free one-day workshop for food waste innovators as part of the U.S. Food Waste Summit. Learn more about the event and apply to attend!

Press Release: ReFED Analysis Uncovers Opportunity to Reduce 16 Million Tons of Food Waste in Foodservice and Restaurant Sectors

ReFED collaborated with the four largest foodservice providers, major restaurants, industry trade associations, and more than 60 expert contributors to create the Restaurant and Foodservice Food Waste Action Guides to support businesses in developing and implementing food waste solutions.

ReFED Analysis Reveals Food Waste Represents $18.2 Billion Profit Opportunity for Grocery Retailers

ReFED collaborated with major grocery retailers, industry trade associations, and more than 30 expert contributors to create the Retail Food Waste Action Guide to support retailers in developing and implementing food waste solutions.

ReFED Inc Newsletter: September 2017

This summer has been an exciting time of growth and progress, both for ReFED and in the effort to reduce wasted food at scale. We have developed new programs around food business engagement, capital and innovation, and are growing our team.

Data Driven Procurement for Less Wasted Food - ReFED

Every so often, we unintentionally discover something truly valuable; either as a complete accident (think Penicillin) or as a byproduct of intended actions. It is no coincidence that entrepreneurs addressing inefficiencies at various nodes throughout the food system often end up addressing wasted food. Such is the case with Konstantin Zvereff, CEO and Co-Founder of BlueCart, a procurement platform for buyers and suppliers that is helping to digitize an industry and enable lean operation models for thousands of food businesses. ReFED had the opportunity to speak with Konstantin Zvereff about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in the burgeoning ecosystem of food waste solutions.

ReFED Newsletter: May 2017

Last month, ReFED launched groundbreaking tools around two of the four Roadmap levers of action: innovation and policy. The Food Waste Innovator Database highlights over 400 innovators who are building new industries to reduce wasted food. The Food Waste Policy Finder identifies leading and lagging state policies that enable or block food waste reduction.

ReFED Innovator Database Webinar

This webinar offers an introduction to ReFED's newly launched Innovator Database, along with an overview of current innovation trends.

ReFED Policy Finder Webinar

This webinar provides an overview of ReFED's Food Waste Policy Finder, along with key policy insights.

ReFED Inc in the News: Going Digital to Rescue Food

This New York Times article describes the bourgeoning digital food recovery solution sector, highlighting ReFED's insights, and several of the innovators included in our Food Waste Innovator Database.

Creating 'taste' from what would be 'waste' - ReFED

ReFED recently connected with Dan Kurzrock, Co-Founder and Executive Grain Officer at ReGrained, to learn about what it takes to make tasty food from beer waste.

How to Unleash the New Food Waste Economy - ReFED

This post was written by Janet Reynolds of FoodFutureCo. Janet Reynolds is FoodFutureCo’s fellow and a co-founder of Waste for Good, a social enterprise building hyper-local networks to connect sustainably-minded food providers to a hub in the community, where food waste is converted into clean energy.

Going Barnanas for new ways to use food - ReFED

ReFED recently caught up with Caue Suplicy, Founder and CEO of Barnana, to learn what its like being a pioneer in the 'edible upcycling' industry.

On the Road to Reduction

Today, the United States wastes 63 million tons of food annually at a cost of $218 billion. ReFED is working to move the food system from acting on instinct to using insights and collaboration to solve our national food waste problem.

Press Release: New ReFED Inc Innovation and Policy Tools

Today, ReFED unveiled two new tools: a database of innovative food waste solutions, and an interactive map that centralizes federal- and state-level food waste policy to assist advocates and policymakers.

Executive Director Announcement - ReFED

ReFED is pleased to announce its inaugural executive director, Chris Cochran!

ReFED Inc. Newsletter: December

Winter may be in full swing, but work at ReFED is really heating up! Over the next few months, expect some big announcements, including the launch of two new online tools (additional details below) and the kick-off of our Funder Collaborative. We are beyond excited to lift the curtain on these projects, and encourage you to take advantage of these resources and share them broadly with your networks as they are released.

The Billion Dollar Food Waste Market Investors Are Missing - ReFED

A collaboration between AgFunder and ReFed, this article aims to highlight some of the technologies working towards reducing food waste globally that are not always associated with the problem.

ReFED Newsletter: November

The ReFED team has been hard at work over the last couple months creating new content on the steady increase in entrepreneurs tackling the food waste problem and top trends we're seeing, and releasing recommendations for how foundations can maximize the impact of philanthropic investment in food waste solutions. In the coming months, look out for new ReFED products, including a web-based tool on policies to facilitate food waste reduction.

Halving U.S. Food Waste: from lofty goal to practical reality - ReFED

Most of our food-related stories are about what we eat – but, a year ago tomorrow, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to focus on the food we don’t eat. Together they announced a remarkably ambitious goal of reducing U.S. food waste by 50 percent by 2030 – a goal firmly in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that soon after were adopted globally.

Behind the plate: Eva Fowler

Eva Fowler, Associate Director of Programs & Communications at ReFED, is working hard at making #NoFoodWaste a reality on a national level. ReFED has set the Roadmap for decreasing food waste, and it’s time for all of us to jump on board.

The ReFED Inc Roadmap To Reducing Food Waste

The Roadmap outlines systems for accomplishing a food waste reduction goal of 20 percent in the near term and 50 percent in the next 15 years. The strategy requires further investment — of time, brainpower and dollars.