[Chicago, IL, August 19, 2025] — Organically Grown Company, an Oregon-based wholesale distributor of fresh organic fruits and vegetables, has joined the U.S. Food Waste Pact (Pact), a joint initiative led by nonprofits ReFED and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce food waste throughout the supply chain. Organically Grown joins 23 other food businesses and organizations that participate in the collaborative food waste reduction effort centered on the "Target, Measure, Act" framework.
According to ReFED, 31% of the food supply goes unsold or uneaten in the United States each year. The majority of that surplus food is sent to waste destinations like landfills, incinerators, and sewer systems. Once wasted, food generates 10% of the United States’ methane emissions, and wasted food accounts for 16% of freshwater use and 16% of land use. For food businesses concerned about the effects of food waste on their bottom lines, surplus food was valued at $382B in 2023, 1.4% of U.S. GDP.
"Supporting organic farmers and getting healthy food onto people's tables are among our biggest priorities," said Mike Dill, director of advocacy and sustainability at Organically Grown Company. "Part of our commitment to make our food system more sustainable is to prevent food from going to waste in the first place. Preventing waste is key to building a better food system, and that takes all of us, and we're excited to collaborate with ReFED and WWF through the U.S. Food Waste Pact."
Sustainability is at the core of Organically Grown Company’s mission, and in 2024, the company reached a zero-waste threshold of 93% in its operations, including donating over 780,000 pounds of edible produce to hunger relief nonprofits and an estimated 100,000 pounds to coworkers, and diverting 600,000 pounds of food from landfill to animal feed. Through their partnership with the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment (PCFWC), a regional collaboration also including ReFED and WWF that served as the inspiration for the national Pact, Organically Grown participated in a "whole chain" project that identified food waste hotspots in the supply chain for one of its plum farmers, the learnings from which sparked an organization-wide commitment to expanding food waste prevention and diversion.
"We're thrilled to have Organically Grown Company sign onto the U.S. Food Waste Pact," said Jackie Suggitt, vice president of business initiatives & community engagement at ReFED. "And we're so glad that our previous work together in the PCFWC supported their commitment to make the food system more sustainable. Having Organically Grown at the table will give the Pact and its signatories valuable insights into trends not only in distribution, but on farms as well."
Organically Grown Company is the twenty-fourth business to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact. Other current signatories are retailers Ahold Delhaize USA, Albertsons Companies, ALDI US, Amazon Fresh, Kroger, Raley’s, Sprouts Farmers Market, Walmart Inc., and Whole Foods Market; manufacturers Bob’s Red Mill, Del Monte Fresh Produce Company, and Lamb Weston, Inc.; coalition signatories FMI—The Food Industry Association, Health Care Without Harm, and the R&DE Stanford Food Institute; foodservice signatories Aramark, Compass Group USA, ISS Guckenheimer, and Sodexo USA; quick-service restaurants Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Wawa; and hospitality signatory Hilton.
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About the U.S. Food Waste Pact
The U.S. Food Waste Pact is a national voluntary agreement that uses the “Target, Measure, Act” framework to reduce food waste across the supply chain. The Pact works with waste-generating food businesses to collect and analyze data about food waste in their operations, share best practices through precompetitive working groups, and pilot and scale solutions through intervention projects. The Pact is an initiative between nonprofits ReFED and the World Wildlife Fund. For more information about the U.S. Food Waste Pact, visit http://usfoodwastepact.org/.
About Organically Grown Company
Organically Grown Company (OGC) has been a leader in organic agriculture for nearly five decades. As the nation’s only purpose-driven, trust-owned marketer of organic produce, OGC partners with farms of all sizes to champion organic farming as a solution for healthy soil, a thriving planet and healthier communities. Beyond sourcing and distributing premium organic produce, OGC drives change through initiatives like its OGC Mission Fund, which annually invests 2.5% of net profits in farmers, nonprofits, and community partners. Learn more at www.organicgrown.com.
Media Contacts:
Nia D’Emilio, ReFED
Susan McCarthy, WWF
Amy Brown, Organically Grown Company