Food Resources:

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EPA, USDA, and FDA Launch Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics
EPA, along with partner agencies USDA and FDA, is pleased to announce a draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics. This Strategy is part of EPA’s Series of Strategies on Building a More Circular Economy for All.
The goal of the Strategy is to prevent the loss and waste of food, where possible, increase recycling of food and other organic materials to support a more circular economy for all, reduce GHG emissions, save households and businesses money, and build cleaner, healthier communities. The actions detailed in this Strategy will help the U.S. meet its National Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal to halve food loss and waste and contribute to achieving the National Recycling Goal to achieve a 50% recycling rate by 2030, as well as contribute to global achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3.
The Strategy identifies concrete steps, and complementary EPA, USDA, and FDA actions, that will accelerate the prevention of food loss and waste, and the recycling of the remaining organic waste across the entire supply chain. The four main objectives of the strategy are as follows:
o       Prevent the loss of food where possible.
o       Prevent the waste of food where possible.
o       Increase the recycling rate for all organic waste.
                                                                                                                 o       Support policies that incentivize and encourage food loss and waste prevention and                                                                                                                                organics recycling.
EPA, USDA, and FDA request public comments on the draft strategy. The public comment period is open for 30 days at Regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2022-0415, until January 4, 2024.
USDA
USDA offers a range of advice to help Americans reduce food waste, which in turn increases household food budgets and makes nutritious diets more affordable. 
  • New infographic: Easy Steps to Prevent Food Waste: Download this infographic and share these easy steps to reduce food waste at home. Download here.
  • PSA Video: USDA Tips to Reduce Food Waste at Home, posted 4/16/2021: Dr. Jean Buzby, USDA Food Loss and Waste Liaison, offers easy steps to help reduce food waste at home. Watch.
  • Food Access Research Atlas: Presents an overview of food access indicators for low-income and other census tracts using different measures of supermarket accessibility; provides food access data for populations within census tracts; and offers census-tract-level data on food access that can be downloaded for community planning or research purposes. View here.
  • Food Environment Atlas: Provides users with a wide set of statistics on food choices, health and well-being, and community characteristics for all communities in the United States. Atlas objectives are: to assemble statistics on food environment indicators to stimulate research on the determinants of food choices and diet quality, and to provide a spatial overview of a community's ability to access healthy food and its success in doing so. View here.
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
New report: Pivoting Policy, Programs and Partnerships: Food Policy Councils' Responses to the Crises of 2020 (2021), 4/5/2021. Using findings from an annual survey of FPCs conducted as part of the Food Policy Networks project, this report captures how FPCs began responding and adapting to emerging food systems challenges during the crises of 2020. Read it here.
 
Recent Articles ​
Food Waste Measurement Tools
Measuring food waste is a good first step to reducing it.  The Environmental Protection Agency offers a number of tools to help consumers and businesses track their food waste and measure their success in reducing it:
  • The Food Waste Management Cost Calculator estimates the cost competitiveness of alternatives to food waste disposal, including source reduction, donation, composting, and recycling of yellow grease.
  • The Waste Reduction Model (WARM Model) model calculates greenhouse gas reductions emissions from baseline and alternative waste management practices for a wide range of materials including food.  Results can also be provided in other easy to understand metrics such as gallons of gasoline, barrels of oil, cars off the road, and homes powered.
  • Participants in EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge have access to data management software and technical assistance to help them quantify and improve their sustainable food management practices. Participants receive an annual climate profile report that translates their food diversion data results into greenhouse gas reductions as well as other measures such as “cars off the road” to help participants communicate the benefits of activities implemented.
More information and links to other measurement tools and resources, see www.epa.gov/foodrecovery
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Lean Path presents: Five Food Waste Myths to Debunk – Now!
This webinar will explore five myths about food waste and the facts you need to debunk them in your kitchen.  Free on demand webinar.
Recovery/Donations
Donating wholesome food for human consumption diverts food waste from landfills and puts food on the table for families in need. 
Donations of non-perishable and unspoiled perishable food from homes and businesses help stock the shelves at food banks, soup kitchens, pantries, and shelters.  Donations of perishable prepared foods, typically collected from restaurants, caterers, corporate dining rooms, hotels, and other food establishments, also play an important role in feeding families in need, though such donations usually require special handling such as refrigerated trucks and prompt distribution.  See EPA’s Feed Families, Not Landfills for donation tips and success stories. A list of some food donation charities is provided on USDA site.. 
Educational Webinars and Recordings on Demand

Listen to the recorded program: Addressing Food Waste & the Role of Composting, 4/19/16
How big of a problem is food waste in the US?  We’ll learn about the dimensions of the problem and get tips on wasting less and putting what we don’t eat to good use. 
Listen:  http://news.mpbn.net/post/addressing-food-waste-role-composting#stream/0

​ReFED Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste Key Insights Webinar
Hosted by the ReFED Team, this webinar features the key insights and solutions outlined in the ReFED Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste.
For more information, visit www.refed.com
View webinar recording:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1POpG9PBeiE&mc_cid=66d12c0626&mc_eid=6587972a1c
New EPA web page: United States 2030 Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal
https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/united-states-2030-food-loss-and-waste-reduction-goal   ​
Federal Laws about Donations  
​A number of federal laws encourage food donation in the United States by providing liability protection to donors or tax incentives.  See the EPA’s website that provides additional information and resources.
  • The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which was created to encourage the donation of food and grocery products to qualified nonprofit organizations and provides liability protection to food donors.  Under this Act, as long as the donor has not acted with negligence or intentional misconduct, the company is not liable for damage incurred as the result of illness.
  • Internal Revenue Code 170(e)(3) provides enhanced tax deductions to businesses to encourage donations of fit and wholesome food to qualified nonprofit organizations serving the poor and needy.  Qualified business taxpayers can deduct the cost to produce the food and half the difference between the cost and full fair market value of the donated food.  
  • The U.S. Federal Food Donation Act of 2008 specifies procurement contract language encouraging Federal agencies and contractors of Federal agencies to donate excess wholesome food to eligible nonprofit organizations to feed food-insecure people in the United States.

​Federal Enhanced Tax Deduction for Food Donation: A Legal Guide, April 2016 Update
The Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic and the Food Recovery Project at the University of Arkansas are pleased to release an updated version of the report “Federal Enhanced Tax Deduction for Food Donation: A Legal Guide,” to reflect the significant changes Congress made as part of the fiscal year 2016 omnibus budget that expand tax incentives for food donations. This guide, originally published in November 2015 before the federal changes, aims to provide an important resource for food businesses and food recovery organizations to help determine whether a food donor is eligible to receive the enhanced deduction. 
View:   http://www.chlpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Food-Donation-Fed-Tax-Guide-for-Pub-2.pdf
Food Retailers, Agriculture Industry, and Charitable Organizations Support First National Goal to Reduce Food Waste by 50 Percent by 2030  The Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy announced the United States' first-ever national food waste reduction goal, calling for a 50-percent reduction by 2030. As part of the effort, the federal government will lead a new partnership with charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, the private sector and local, state and tribal governments to reduce food loss and waste in order to improve overall food security and conserve our nation's natural resources.

​Make Wasted Food a Thing of the Past

The Food: Too Good to Waste Toolkit is awesome. It gives simple tips about how to reduce your wasted food in five different ways through Getting Smart, Smart Shopping, Smart Storage, Smart Prep and Smart Saving.  Read more on this blog.
National Campaign Directed at Reducing Wasted Food from Consumers 
The Ad Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council created “Save The Food,” a major national public service campaign to combat food waste from its largest source—consumers, who collectively waste more food than grocery stores, restaurants or farms. The initiative hopes to encourage consumers to reduce the amount of food they trash in their homes, thereby saving the water, energy and money that are lost along with it. Watch the TV ad here.
EPA provides information on additional food waste recycling options: