The ZFWC will advocate for ambitious federal food waste policy solutions to reduce methane emissions from landfills, improve food access and nutrition security, and build more sustainable food systems.

The founding organizations of the coalition began working together in 2020 to engage with and inform policymakers on opportunities to prevent and reduce food waste. Together, they developed and launched the U.S. Food Loss and Waste Action Plan, endorsed by a group of over 60 companies, NGOs, and local and state governments, which recommends overarching actions the federal government can take to reduce food waste.

The coalition is committed to working together to develop and implement strategies to reduce food waste at all stages of the food supply chain, working alongside policymakers, local advocates, food producers, retailers, and consumers.

One of the coalition's priorities is to mitigate food waste via the 2023 Farm Bill, a multi-year package of legislation that impacts agriculture and food issues across the U.S. Each year, farmers, food manufacturers, households, and businesses spend $444 billion to grow, process, transport, and dispose of food that is never eaten. The ZFWC's top priorities for the Farm Bill include: provisions that expand federal administrative research and funding, increase federal grants and loans for infrastructure that eliminates food waste from landfills, and for proven state and local policies that prevent wasted food, and standardize and clarify food date labels.

For more details about the ZFWC's ongoing federal policy efforts, please see below:

• Farm Bill
• Food Waste Action Plan
• Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act
• Federal Liability Protection for Food Donation
• Priority Legislation
  • Zero Food Waste Act
  • COMPOST Act
  • Food Donation Improvement Act (signed into law in January 2023)
  • Food Date Labeling Act