Hello from the USDA Food Loss and Waste (FLW) Team,

Happy Spring! The nation’s capital is awash in green as trees, flowers, and shrubs begin to bloom and unfurl fresh foliage.

The USDA FLW team recently volunteered in the USDA Headquarters People’s Garden by planting flowers, preparing raised beds, and implementing a vermiculture system. It was fantastic not only to see a FLW solution implemented on our own campus, but also to be part of the team placing handfuls of wriggling red crawlers into the composting bins.

Photo Credit: Edwin Martinez (left), Sarah Bellaire (middle and right)

We wanted to make sure you’re aware of the recent expansion of liability protections for food donations. 2023 was off to a running start with President Biden signing the Food Donation Improvement Act (S.5329) on January 5. The law expands the liability protections given by the 1996 Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act, by protecting donations made directly to individuals and those purchased for a small, highly reduced fee (covering handling and/or distribution, etc.). Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic released a factsheet on the updated law.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Cheers,

The USDA Food Loss and Waste (FLW) Team

FLW Innovation Highlight

Your banana peels could soon be paving new roads. The University of Illinois recently received a USDA grant to convert biowaste into pavement. The team was awarded $2.5 million through NIFA’s Bioproduct Pilot Program which supports value-added research and development. Authorized and funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Bioproduct Pilot Program seeks to spur economic activity in the nation’s rural areas while lowering commercialization risks associated with bringing biobased products to market. The University of Illinois research team will investigate converting food waste and hog manure into biobinders for asphalt that increase the quality of recycled asphalt pavements. The process, called hydrothermal liquefaction, can convert these materials in as little as an hour. If commercialized, benefits include reduced landfill waste, reduced disposal costs for asphalt and food waste, and low-cost products.

Events

WasteExpo Food Recovery Forum

May 1-3, New Orleans, La.

This forum features a May 1 panel with USDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discussing federal food loss and waste reduction initiatives.

AIM for Climate Summit

May 8-10, Washington, D.C.

At the AIM for Climate Summit, look for USDA leadership discussing a systemic approach to innovation for climate-smart food systems and more. On May 10, there will be a panel discussion on food loss and waste. A livestream is available.

ReFED 2023 Food Waste Solutions Summit

May 16-18, St. Louis, Mo.

ReFED’s Food Waste Solutions Summit brings together food businesses, funders, solution providers, innovators, policymakers, nonprofits, and more. Organized around the key action areas and solutions from ReFED’s Roadmap to 2030, the Summit features mainstage presentations and panels, breakout sessions, networking events, field trips, special activities, and more — all designed to drive progress on the national 2030 goal of a 50% reduction in food waste. USDA, EPA, and FDA have a formal agreement with ReFED to better evaluate and improve upon strategies to reduce food loss and waste. Learn more about this hybrid event.

Important Dates

May 7-13 is International Compost Awareness Week. The theme this year is “Healthier Soil, Healthier Food ... Compost!” Learn how to engage your audiences with a social media toolkit.

News and Media

The USAID Kitchen Sink Food Loss and Waste Podcast was created to raise awareness, exchange information, and share FLW success stories. Monthly bite-sized episodes of 20 minutes or less highlight FLW approaches from USAID and other federal agencies. Listen to the latest episode.

EPA recently awarded $1.5 million for their Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program for Research to Reduce Consumer Food Waste in the United States Grants.

Webinars

Watch ReFED’s April 21 webinar Measuring Food Waste: New Estimates, New Insights, New Opportunities. In this webinar, ReFED and the EPA discuss their updated food waste estimates and the differences between their methodologies.

Funding Opportunities

USDA Compost and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Cooperative Agreements

Deadline: June 15, 2023

CFWR applications are now open. Awards will be funded up to $400k for development, planning, and implementation of municipal compost and food waste reduction plans. See past examples.

USDA NIFA Center for Research, Behavior Economics, and Extension on Food Loss & Waste

Deadline: September 14, 2023

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) invites proposals for a competitive grant of $1.5 million to fund a Center for Research, Behavioral Economics, and Extension on Food Loss and Waste (FLW). Robust land-grant university (LGU) research supported by strong Extension networks incorporating scientific and socioeconomic approaches is the goal of this program. This center will use a systems approach in conducting research and Extension outreach on policies and programs relevant to addressing inefficiencies in the food system and food-related practices. The center can create meaningful momentum for FLW prevention and recovery among LGUs and their partners and external stakeholders. The funding is part of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Foundational and Applied Science Program, which supports grants in six priority areas to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture. See page 108 for details on this request for proposals.

Resources

EPA 2019 Wasted Report – New estimates on food waste and management in food service, residential, food manufacturing and processing facilities.

EPA Anaerobic Digestion Facilities Processing Food Waste in the United States (2019) - This report summarizes survey data of stand-alone digesters, on-farm co-digestion systems, and water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) with co-digestion systems.

ReFED New FLW Estimates ReFED updated their food waste estimate methodology and released new numbers for 2020 and 2021.

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