Season’s Greetings! Wishing you and yours a warm holiday season filled with delicious food and quality time with those you love.

We are proud to release the new draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and we are seeking feedback on it.

The draft National Strategy is a step toward meeting our 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.

The four main objectives of the draft National Strategy are:

1. Prevent the loss of food where possible.
2. Prevent the waste of food where possible.
3. Increase the recycling rate for all organic waste.
4. Support policies that incentivize and encourage food loss and waste prevention and organics recycling.

The 30-day public comment period opened on Dec. 5 and is open until Feb. 3.

All comments are encouraged and especially if you are involved in food loss and waste efforts including running a food recovery program in your community, managing a local compost facility, pile, or collection, or a restauranter working to purchase the right amount of produce (source reduction). If you are reading this – we want to hear from you.

Cheers,

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Loss and Waste Team

Events

Listen to a recording of the Dec. 19 event, Reducing Reducing Food Waste in Food Service Kitchens: A Project in Erie County, New YorkWaste in Food Service Kitchens: A Project in Erie County, New York. Representatives from the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning and the Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association discussed a current project on measuring and reducing food waste at 4 healthcare facilities. The webinar included discussion of:

• An overview of the project challenges, results, and the lessons learned. 
• Information on using the Leanpath tool to measure food waste.  
• Outline general food waste reduction opportunities for food service kitchens.  
• The documents published as a result of the project. 
• A 12-page case study: Reducing Food Waste at Healthcare Facilities in Erie County.   
• An 8-page guide: Reducing Food Waste From Food Service Kitchens in Erie County.

Household Food Waste: New Research on Why There’s So Much

Jan. 17, 2024, 1 p.m. (virtual)

Nearly half of all uneaten food happens at the household level, and understanding the reasons why it happens is a critical first step to addressing it. A new report from MITRE helps to do that. In partnership with Gallup, MITRE surveyed more than 9,000 respondents to measure knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding food waste in American households, and they deployed an app for respondents to track their household waste. Join ReFED’s Dana Gunders as she sits down with Dr. Balca Alaybek and John Aitken from MITRE to discuss their findings.

Future 2024 Events

• COMPOST2024, Feb. 6-9, (Daytona, Fla.)
• Food Waste Prevention Week, April 1-7 (virtual)
• International Compost Awareness Week, May 5-11 (virtual)
• Waste360 Food Recovery Forum, May 6-8 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
• BIOGAS AMERICAS 2024, May 13 – 16 (Savannah, Ga.)
• ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit, June 11-13 (Baltimore, Md.)

Funding Opportunities

SARE Food Loss and Waste Program Manager/Coordinator (Due Jan. 31, 2024)

This is a special grant call from SARE seeking a Program Manager/Coordinator to support food loss and waste, as part of a larger USDA-funded initiative beginning in 2024. This contracted position is open to applicants across the U.S. and all territories.

USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans and Grants (deadlines vary)

The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing. Funds may be used for the purchase and installation of renewable energy systems, including anaerobic digesters (that can incorporate food waste as a feedstock). This program is open for Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024.

EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (Due April 1, 2024, Tribes and territories due May 1, 2024)

EPA is announcing the availability of $4.6 billion across two implementation grant competitions, one general competition and one specifically for Tribes and territories. Under these funding opportunities, eligible applicants will compete for climate pollution reduction implementation grants to fund measures in their state-, municipality-, Tribe-, or territory-specific climate action plans. As part of its application evaluation, EPA will prioritize measures that achieve the greatest reduction in GHG emissions. Measures that address waste (including food waste) and materials management are within the scope. For more information, read the General Competition Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the Tribes and Territories Competition NOFO, and the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant website. Learn more about the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. Check out the new Quantified Climate Action Measures Directory. EPA has added additional climate action plans to its database of government climate action plans that address materials management and waste.

DOE Critical Materials Innovation, Efficiency, and Alternatives Program (Deadline: available until expended)

The $600 Million Critical Material Innovation, Efficiency, and Alternatives Program is designed to conduct a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercialization to develop alternatives to critical materials, to promote their efficient production and use, and ensure a long-term secure and sustainable supply of them. Eligible entities include institutions of higher education, for-profit and nonprofit entities, and state and local governmental entities and Tribes.

EPA 2024 President’s Environmental Student and Teacher Awards (Due Jan. 15, 2024)

EPA is requesting applications for the 2024 President’s Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA) and Presidential Innovation Awards for Environmental Educators (PIAEE). PEYA recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship projects from students in Grades K–12 that promote environmental awareness and encourage community involvement. PIAEE recognizes outstanding Grade K–12 educators who integrate environmental education and place-based learning into school curricula and school facility management across the country.

Projects eligible for the awards can apply to a variety of environmental topics, including, but not limited to climate change, environmental justice, water infrastructure, lead in drinking water, a reduction in contributions to ocean and marine litter, recycling solutions, the use of STEM to teach environmental education, environmental sustainability and agricultural practices, healthy school environments, and the reduction of food loss and waste, and excess food recovery efforts. Application and eligibility information is available on EPA’s PEYA page and EPA’s PIAEE page.

Resources

USDA Releases Updated Food Insecurity Data

USDA monitors the extent and severity of food insecurity in U.S. households through an annual, nationally representative survey sponsored and analyzed by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS). This report presents statistics from the survey that cover household food security, food expenditures, and use of Federal food and nutrition assistance programs in 2022.

The State of Food And Agriculture

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released a report outlining the true cost to transform agrifood systems. The report introduces the concept of hidden environmental, health and social costs and benefits of agrifood systems and proposes an approach – true cost accounting – to assess them.