The federal government hopes to improve coordination across federal agencies to help reduce food waste with a new joint agency formal agreement signed this week under the Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative. In conjunction with the signing, two new companies — Kroger and Hilton — joined their US Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions.
The joint agreement begins a partnership between the EPA, the FDA, and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), via which the agencies say they will “enhance food recovery efforts and educate the public on the need for improved food waste management.”
In the US, food waste is estimated at between 30% and 40% of the food supply, according to the USDA, most of it coming at the retail and consumer levels. Wasted food is the largest category of material placed in municipal landfills; and massive amounts of water, energy, and labor are lost when used to produce food that goes to waste.
Effectively reducing food waste will “require cooperation among federal, state, tribal and local governments, faith-based institutions, environmental organizations, communities, and the entire supply chain,” says the FDA.
Redirecting excess food to people, animals, or energy production has “tremendous economic and social benefits,” says EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler. Wheeler says the Trump Administration is working closely with businesses to prevent food loss and “maximize the inherent value of food.
The US Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions initiative, which aims to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030, boasts a current membership of 23 organizations and businesses:
These organizations have made a public commitment to reduce food loss and waste in their own operations in the US by 50% by the year 2030. They have also committed to periodically reporting their progress on their websites.
