The U.S. Food Waste Pact held its first virtual town hall on October 16. During the session, speakers explained the history of the U.S. Food Waste Pact, its current slate of projects, and its goals for expansion. The audience answered several questions throughout the presentation designed to solicit feedback that will help shape the future of the Pact. One of these questions asked: “What’s the title of a Pilot Case Study that you’d like to see published by the U.S. Food Waste Pact in the next 1-2 years?” In this piece, we organize the answers into categories and outline the Pact’s plans for each.
Partnerships
Example submission: How can we build more public-private partnership campaigns to help consumers prevent food waste at home?
The highest number of proposed case studies was about partnerships, specifically public-private partnerships and regional partnerships. Often, the partnership was attached to another category, such as food recovery or consumer education. There seemed to be, though, a clear idea from town hall participants that partnerships—on a national scale or community-driven—were a key to success when it came to food waste reduction.
This ethos is what the Pact is founded upon, that collaboration—across sectors and functions—is what drives true change. With the Pact’s history rooted in its work with the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment (PCFWC), there is precedent for regional and public-private partnership in food waste reduction in the U.S. As the Pact continues to expand its stakeholder base, more partnerships of all kinds will be explored.
Food Recovery
Example submission: Large-Scale Recovery of Surplus Produce to Address Nutritional Insecurity
Food recovery, along with food insecurity, was the second-most referenced subject in the answers to the case study question. Food recovery—or food rescue—is a crucial solution to preventing food from going to waste. In fact, it’s often the final effort that keeps food in the human supply chain. While recovery lead to donation, it’s important to note that businesses’ food recovery efforts are not a silver bullet in solving food insecurity. Nonetheless, food businesses can improve storage, handling, and transportation of food to ensure that more food lasts longer, increasing the amount that businesses can donate.
The Pact has several case studies—like this one about Raley’s—exploring individual businesses’ food waste reduction efforts that cite food rescue as a solution. Additionally, all signatories are able join the Food Recovery working group, a pre-competitive, collaborative space for businesses to discuss best practices in food recovery efforts and pitch potential intervention projects related to related to rescuing surplus food.
Technology & New Solutions
Example submission: How smart transportation changes led to a xx% reduction in food waste
New solutions, some that piloted new technologies, were also referenced in audience answers. Apps and tech more broadly were subjects that were brought up in tandem with large-scale changes to the supply chain, while other solutions that were mentioned target specific stages like food transportation.
There is precedent for the Pact to pilot new technology solutions in intervention projects. Several case studies—such as Using Artificial Intelligence to Reduce Food Waste in Grocery Retail and How E-Commerce Strategies Can Reduce Wasted Produce—detail the successes of piloting technology in grocery retail to prevent food waste. As new technology emerges, and particularly as artificial intelligence advances, the Pact looks forward to exploring more ways to address and prevent food waste.
Economic Value
Example submission: Case study: Beat Inflation - stop wasting food!
Reducing food waste and its effect on the bottom line was also a recurring theme in answers. Tackling inflation and saving money through food waste reduction were specific suggestions from the audience, with particular enthusiasm. As food waste was valued at $428 billion in 2022, the use case for food waste reduction as an answer to economic strain is relevant.
Because cost is an important metric in many of the Pact’s intervention projects, the majority of case studies detail cost savings as a result of other solutions. In both published employee engagement case studies—the first with Pact signatory Bob’s Red Mill and the second with manufacturer Land O’Lakes—cost savings from an implemented food waste solution were detailed. This foodservice case study also discusses cost savings related to several solutions to prevent food waste. As the Pact continues to scope new projects, cost savings will remain a key insight to highlight in relevant case studies.
Recycling Solutions
Example submission: Do organics recycling programs impact the amount of food wasted by households?
Recycling solutions were also cited as an area to explore. Most suggestions were sector agnostic, though one did specifically mention manufacturing. Another suggestion relayed an interest in recycling solutions to address consumer food waste, another recurring subject discussed below.
While there is some precedent to explore recycling solutions—as detailed in this case study about compliance with California’s SB 1383 recycling law—the Pact, in alignment with other organizations and recommendations, is focused on preventing food from becoming waste in the first place. Still, recycling solutions are important in handling food surplus that is ultimately not consumed by human beings, and the Pact supports efforts to keep food out of landfills.
Other Suggestions
Beyond these top five categories, consumer food waste, food loss on farms, and food waste in schools were among the subjects covered in the suggestions. Many of the Pact’s projects affect consumers in some way (see How Consumer Messaging Impact Plate Waste for an example that directly impacts them). Both whole chain case studies—one on the fresh strawberry supply chain and the other on the frozen potato supply chain—speak to farm loss. As for school food waste, ReFED and WWF held a webinar on this subject within the last several months.
The list could go on, but the most crucial takeaway from this exercise is that the enthusiasm for food waste reduction is palpable. The breadth of areas to explore speaks directly to the opportunities ahead. The U.S. Food Waste Pact looks forward to growing its stakeholder network and creating more partnerships with signatories to address food waste across sectors and solutions.