In The News

Mon Oct 28 2024

Last week, founding Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC) member ReFED—with support from Global Methane Hub—released a study revealing the methane hotspots for uneaten food in the U.S. The report also included corresponding solutions that can reduce food waste and slash methane emissions.

Mon Sep 30 2024

The Zero Food Waste Coalition, in collaboration with its members and partners in Florida, united organizations across the state in support of the federal Food Date Labeling Act (H.R.3159, S.1484). These organizations were asked to sign a letter calling on the Florida delegation in Congress to co-sponsor this commonsense legislation that would standardize date labels across the U.S.

Tue Sep 24 2024

The Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC) is excited to see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dedicate $117 million in grants focused on recycling and wasted food prevention. It's an important step in addressing the 38% of food that goes unsold and uneaten in the U.S. and will help advance progress towards the national goal of a 50% reduction in food loss and waste by 2030.

Wed Aug 21 2024

Late last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRGs), a two-phase program that provides $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants to develop Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAP) and Comprehensive Climate Action Plans (CCAP) and $4.6 billion in competitive implementation grant funding to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. In response, the Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC) spent months encouraging and assisting organizations in asking their local agencies to prioritize initiatives designed to combat food loss and waste in their requests for funding and climate action planning.

Tue Aug 13 2024

The Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC), in partnership with Coalition member Divert, and founding coalition member Harvard Law School Food Law & Policy Clinic, released a comprehensive Food Waste Legislative Tracker to advance opportunities to push food waste prevention and diversion laws across the country.

Mon Jul 01 2024

Earlier this month, the White House finalized a National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics after holding a public comment period on a draft strategy released by USDA, FDA and EPA. The Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC) applauds updates in the final strategy that are aligned with many of its recommendations.

Tue Jun 18 2024

Last week, the Zero Food Waste Coalition hosted an in-person advocacy day on Capitol Hill—attended by 35+ of its members—to continue urging Congress to prioritize food loss and waste (FLW) prevention efforts in federal policy.

Fri Jun 07 2024

The Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC) applauds the inclusion of USAID in the Federal Interagency Collaboration to Reduce Food Loss and Waste, which was renewed last week. This formal agreement between the USDA, EPA, FDA, and now USAID is a critical step to reducing food waste and helping the U.S. reach its goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030.

Fri May 03 2024

For the first time, the Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC) is participating in the Appropriations process by requesting the committees provide funding to address food loss and waste in fiscal year 2025.

Fri May 03 2024

Earlier this week, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow of the Senate Agriculture Committee released a detailed section-by-section proposal for the Farm Bill. The proposal includes several bipartisan food waste provisions that will help combat food loss and waste.

Mon Mar 25 2024

Last week, the Zero Food Waste Coalition hosted a two-day advocacy event on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The first-of-its-kind event which took place on March 19 and 20, included a legislative training session, coordinated Congressional meetings, and a reception.

Tue Feb 13 2024

Over 25 industry supporters have signed the Zero Food Waste Coalition’s open letter urging Congress to support the bipartisan Food Date Labeling Act of 2023 (H.R.3159, S.1484) (FDLA) and encourage them to include it in the upcoming Farm Bill. The FDLA aims to reduce food waste by establishing a standardized dual date-labeling scheme for food products in the United States that have date labels. Major food industry businesses, including Albertsons Companies, Walmart, and Nestlé USA, have signed the letter, which cites that standardizing and streamlining date labels is one of the most cost-effective methods to prevent the wasting of surplus, wholesome food.

Fri Feb 02 2024

This week, the Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC) submitted comments on the EPA, USDA, and FDA’s Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics. The goals of this strategy are to prevent food loss and waste; increase the recycling rate of food and other organic materials; reduce GHG emissions; save households and businesses money; and build cleaner, healthier communities.

Wed Jan 17 2024

Today, the Zero Food Waste Coalition, released an open letter to Congress encouraging them to take swift action to reauthorize the Farm Bill in 2024, as well as recommending specific improvements for food loss and waste provisions.

Mon Dec 04 2023

The Zero Food Waste Coalition is proud to have been a part of the organizations, community advocates, and Congressional members who tirelessly advocated for the restoration of funding of the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production in the Senate-passed Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill. This office oversees and funds the Composting and Food Waste Reduction Cooperative Agreements and the Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Competitive Grant Program. The Coalition sincerely thanks Chairwoman Stabenow and the bipartisan co-sponsors of her amendment for their leadership and persistence.

Fri Dec 01 2023

Over the past few months, the Zero Food Waste Coalition (ZFWC) has been encouraging and assisting organizations in asking their local agencies to prioritize initiatives designed to combat food loss and waste through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRGs).

Sun Oct 01 2023

Members of Congress today introduced the NO TIME TO Waste Act to address the issue of food loss and waste in the United States through a variety of measures. With the United States’ pledge to halve food loss and waste by 2030 quickly approaching, the Zero Food Waste Coalition enthusiastically endorses this legislation as integral to implementing nationwide solutions to food loss and waste.

Tue May 16 2023

New toolkit shares proven, actionable solutions to inspire state policymakers and advocates to reduce food waste, confront climate change, and tackle food insecurity.

Mon Apr 25 2022

Today, the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), ReFED, and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), released “Opportunities to Reduce Food Waste in the 2023 Farm Bill,” which outlines 22 recommendations that Congress can implement to tackle food waste in the next Farm Bill.

Thu Jul 15 2021

The Zero Food Waste Act introduced by Representatives Julia Brownley (CA), Ann McLane Kuster (NH), Chellie Pingree (ME), and Senator Cory Booker (NJ) would advance a core element of the Food Loss and Waste Action Plan. The Act would provide state governments, Native nations, and local communities with an alternative to sending food waste to landfills and incinerators and support building out the nation’s food waste management infrastructure—creating quality new jobs, and significantly reducing GHG emissions.