ReFED

NYC Climate Week, UNGA, International Day of Food Loss and Waste Awareness, Food Waste Prevention Week...... It's like the Super Bowl for the food waste movement and the work we do at ReFED. Why all the hype? Simple: food waste solutions are some of the most actionable climate solutions we have today, and they're driving benefits for people, planet, and profit. We can feed our neighbors before we feed landfills. We can respect our farmers and ranchers, and their resources, by using what they produce. We can put dollars back in consumers' pocketbooks. We can strengthen and create new food businesses. We can immediately reduce food system emissions, including the emergency brake for climate change - methane. So this year, I don't have a contrarian or provocative takeaway. I have a simple one. Food waste is the opportunity on our proverbial plate. Take one "bite" today - whether that is eating your leftovers instead of ordering takeout, chatting with frontline employees to see what item your restaurant should resize, or finally putting food waste on your sustainability agenda. Everyone has a seat at the table to create a future free of food waste. #foodwaste #climateaction Kristen Lee David Ly Yoni Auerbach Sam Buck Dana Gunders Nate Clark Minerva Ringland Angel Veza Andrew Shakman Kathy Cacciola Catherine David Lisa Moon Brian Lipinski Michael Oko Pete Pearson Jackie Suggitt Gwyneth Lodge Rampton ReFED WRAP WWF World Resources Institute Food Rescue US

On this #FLW Awareness Day, we're excited to announce that Amy's Kitchen has become our latest signatory! As a prepared foods manufacturer, they will bring a new perspective to the Pact’s signatory base, and their proven leadership on #WasteDiversion will add valuable insights to our work. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gfWz7v2D #FoodWaste #Sustainability #Efficiency

This #FoodWastePreventionWeek, and in honor of today's International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, we're sharing 3 key facts about #FoodWaste and our current food date label system, as well as an action you can take TODAY to do something about it: -- 🌍 A nationally representative survey found that 88% of consumers discard food near the package date label at least occasionally – even though it's often still perfectly good. -- 🍎 In 2024 alone, date label confusion contributed to an estimated 3.5 million tons of food waste. -- 💰Standardizing date labels is one of the most cost-effective solutions to reducing food waste in the United States. So what can YOU do about it? Take action to reduce the amount of food wasted due to confusing food date labels by signing this petition from the Zero Food Waste Coalition to pass the Food Date Labeling Act, a straightforward, bipartisan, and common-sense bill that would cut through this confusion and help consumers save money. 👉 https://lnkd.in/geBCGvbC #FLWDay #IDAFLW #FoodLossAndWaste

A great opportunity from our friends at Toast!

"When a kitchen runs out of a dish, the consequence is immediate and visible—an empty chafing dish, a guest without food. When a kitchen overproduces, the consequence is invisible—waste accumulates in the back, portioned into compostable bins, rarely traced to the decision that caused it. That invisibility allows overproduction to persist even in operations that track food cost carefully." Our latest guest blog from Chef Ankish Shetty provides a first-hand account of some of the realities of reducing #FoodWaste in corporate #Foodservice kitchens. It also provides clear actions to take to address those realities + minimize wasted food. Check it out 👉 https://lnkd.in/gjzyy-ky #Chefs #CorporateKitchen #CulinaryArts

"The idea of being able to make an observation, escalate it to a cross-functional team, who have ways to affect how things go and then how processes are built and then practiced. It gives people a little bit of hope." Across four pilots in two sectors, frontline works have reduced food waste by an average of 66%. Engaging employees in #FoodWaste reduction is about more than food waste—it gives them the opportunity to cut waste, save money, and strengthen the culture their own workplace. Three of our signatories—Bob's Red Mill, Del Monte Corporation, and Aramark—reflect on how engaging employees in food waste reduction has positively impacted their companies. Read the story: https://lnkd.in/gvawMMZ2 #climateweek #sustainability #food #supplychain

Here's the newest edition of Business Bites, a ReFED newsletter for food businesses seeking practical ways to reduce food waste, cut costs, grow sales, and meet sustainability goals. This issue covers: * The U.S. Food Waste Pact’s new report on the healthcare segment, * A Solutions Corner look at active and intelligent packaging, * How to save money when you register for the 2027 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit, and * More! Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments 🙌 #foodwaste #greenbusiness #sustainability #sdg12

“We are excited about food loss and waste as a way to reduce demand for animal products without having to change what people are eating, which is notoriously difficult.” That’s how Vicky Cox of Ambitious Impact described the opportunity in ReFED’s new Mission Multiplier animal welfare spotlight. The connection is surprisingly direct. Globally, an estimated 20% of meat and dairy and 35% of fish and seafood are lost or wasted—representing roughly 18 billion land animals, primarily chickens, and likely tens to hundreds of billions of aquatic animals. Ambitious Impact has explored food waste interventions as a way to reduce demand for animal products, including research into extending expiration dates to prevent otherwise edible animal products from being discarded. Lever VC approaches the intersection from the investment side, looking for technologies that reduce disease, mortality, and food loss while offering clear value to producers. Managing Partner Nick Cooney sees aquaculture as an especially important—and underfunded—frontier given the scale of animals involved. Together, these perspectives get at the core argument of our Animal Welfare spotlight: reducing food loss and waste won’t replace other animal welfare strategies, but it can complement them by reducing the number of animals needed while also improving conditions within the food system. Thanks to Vicky, Nick, Ambitious Impact, and Lever VC for contributing their perspectives to the piece. 👉 Read the Animal Welfare spotlight here: https://lnkd.in/gfT5GqJh #FoodWaste #AnimalWelfare #Aquaculture #FoodWasteSolutions

I'm honored to join the 2026 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting during #ClimateWeekNYC, where I'll be speaking with Paul Polman and Juvencio Maeztu about creating economic value through #FoodWaste reduction and valorization. Food waste is addressable—and we have the tools to design a food system free of waste while protecting the planet, feeding people (not landfills), and creating more resilient business operations.  Learn more about the Annual Meeting here: https://lnkd.in/g8i3wCSv #CGI2026