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.

During the two-day event, the coalition:

• Had 30+ of its members participate
• Attended 50+ Meetings with Congressional Offices
• Hosted a reception with 85+ attendees, including 15+ Coalition members and Congresswoman Pingree
• Had attendees from organizations representing all 50 states and Canada

During the event, coalition members and other stakeholders advocated for two bipartisan bills: The NO TIME TO Waste Act and the Food Date Labeling Act. The coalition also shared some preliminary recommendations for food waste-related appropriations for the 2025 fiscal year.

“We need to make sure legislatures know that food waste is an important issue,” said Natalia de Los Rios, head of the Food Rescue U.S Virginia Beach chapter. “We need to ensure that our direct on-the-ground experiences are being heard by Congress.”

Following the Congressional meetings on March 19th, attendees joined a reception in the Longworth House Office Building, co-hosted with the Congressional Food Recovery Caucus and sponsored by Hellmann’s. The reception featured rousing speeches from Congresswoman Pingree and food waste champions from the nonprofit and private sectors on opportunities to address food loss and waste through federal legislation, specifically the Farm Bill.

To learn more about the Zero Food Waste Coalition’s efforts, go to zerofoodwastecoalition.org or email zfwcoalition@gmail.com.

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The Zero Food Waste Coalition aims to inform and influence policy at the local, state, and federal levels, and share policy updates and opportunities with partners and stakeholders around the country to bring consumers, businesses, and government together to make food loss and waste history. The Coalition was launched by NRDC, WWF, ReFED, and FLPC in April 2023, formalizing a partnership that began in January 2020.

CONTACT:
Zero Food Waste Coalition, zfwcoalition@gmail.com