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Happy Summer!
June 20 officially marked the start of summer with the summer solstice. We hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying these warmer temperatures and longer days with family and friends.
Our Food Loss and Waste Team has great news to share with you! On June 12, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics at the 2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit. The White House also released a fact sheet on the interagency national strategy.
Additionally, our team is proud to announce the expansion of our Federal Interagency Collaboration to Reduce Food Loss and Waste (FIFLAW). This formal agreement, originally signed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now also includes the Agency for International Development (USAID). The addition of USAID enables the U.S. government to expand its efforts and reach a broad range of international stakeholders while better leveraging government resources. The agencies will also work together with external partners to leverage the private and the nongovernmental sectors to drive national and global change to reduce food loss and waste.
We recently renewed the memorandum of understanding between USDA, EPA, FDA and the Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA) comprised of the Consumer Brands Association, FMI – The Food Industry Association, and the National Restaurant Association and look forward to setting new priorities to advance food loss and waste work. This public-private partnership will explore actions to reach industry sectors, through efforts such as targeted industry resources, tools, and guidance.
Cheers,
The USDA Food Loss and Waste Team
Funding Opportunities
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications for Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) pilot projects for fiscal year 2024. These cooperative agreements support local and tribal governments in developing innovative, scalable waste management plans that reduce and divert food waste from landfills and test strategies for municipal composting and food waste reduction efforts. These cooperative agreements support projects in communities of all sizes and are part of USDA’s broader efforts to address food loss and waste. The funding opportunity is available on grants.gov under USDA-NRCS-NHQ-CFWR-24-NOFO0001412. Apply by September 4, 2024 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Webinars
USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) invites you to learn more about the Food Safety, Nutrition and Health program areas, current initiatives, and grant opportunities, such as the new Center for Research, Behavioral Economics, and Extension on Food Loss and Waste, in the Agriculture Food and Research Initiative (AFRI) Foundational Program RFA. Attendees will receive an overview of each of the Food Safety, Nutrition and Health program areas and an opportunity to ask questions of the National Program Leaders providing leadership to each of the areas.
July 25, 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. EDT: Technical Assistance Webinar: AFRI Food Safety, Nutrition and Health
Upcoming Events
NYC Climate Week, September 22-29, New York, N.Y.
International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, September 29, 2024
WASTECON, October 21-24, Dallas, Texas
Resources
National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics
This National Strategy lays out a path for the United States to meet its national goal of reducing food loss and waste by 50% by 2030. The actions outlined in this strategy will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions (including methane), save households and businesses money, and build cleaner communities by reducing food loss and waste.
Joint USDA EPA Methane Factsheet, Food Waste and Methane: What’s the Connection?
Did you know that decomposing food waste releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) with higher warming potential than CO2? To learn more, check out the new USDA and EPA fact sheet.
2023 U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions Milestone Report
For the past three years, USDA and EPA have released annual reports providing progress updates reported by the Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions, food businesses that have publicly committed to reducing food loss and waste in their U.S. operations. USDA is proud to release the 2023 Milestone Report which summarizes actions and impacts of 24 Champions.
ICYMI – there is a recording of the April panel USDA Programs, Investments, and Innovations to Prevent and Reduce Food Loss and Waste. USDA Food Loss and Waste Liaison Dr. Jean Buzby and leaders across USDA (including Agricultural Research Service, Food and Nutrition Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production) described some of the ways USDA engages in food loss and waste prevention and reduction across the U.S. food supply chain.
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