With one in seven Americans facing hunger and food insecurity in the United States, it’s hard to believe that 30% of all food produced is tossed in the trash. ReFED Executive Director Dana Gunders says that “food waste is the dumbest problem that is completely solvable.” On a mission to end food waste, ReFED (www.refed.org) is a national nonprofit using a data-driven approach to solve a systemwide problem across the entire food supply chain. Food rescue is one of many solutions that food retailers can employ to reduce food waste, improve profitability and help reduce hunger in the local community.
Why Food Waste Is a Problem
While the juxtaposition of hunger and food waste is hard to swallow, the impact of 92 billion pounds of food going to waste each year isn’t just a dumb problem – it’s also having a devastating impact on the environment and is a major contributor to climate change. Precious natural resources are wasted when food is grown, harvested, transported, processed and prepared, only to end up in a landfill. The carbon emissions impact on the environment from food waste is the equivalent of 50 million cars driven for an entire year!
Further, a recent study published in Nutrition Journal indicated that the average American consumer spends roughly $1,300 a year on food that’s wasted. With rising food costs, that’s another opportunity for in-store dietitians to help customers learn about the impact of food waste and money-saving strategies to maximize health.
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Teaching customers the difference between use-by and sell-by dates, highlighting zero-waste cooking strategies, and offering tools and tips on proper food storage techniques can have a significant impact toward reducing food waste by half by 2030.
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