Happy Fall! There are many great events happening at the end of September and in the coming months. Important to highlight is the International Day of Awareness for Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW) happening this Friday, Sept. 29. This year’s theme is “Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Taking Action to Transform Agrifood Systems. Please help us celebrate this day. Learn how to get involved with this guide from the observance organizer, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). #FLWDay

Cheers,

The USDA Food Loss and Waste (FLW) Team

Events & Webinars

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Agrilinks hub is observing Food Loss and Waste Month with a series of blog posts and resources, featuring examples from the field and actionable recommendations for the development community. With the annual U.N. conference on climate change (COP28) and other high-level climate and food systems events on the horizon this fall and winter, now is the time to highlight the importance of addressing food loss and waste (FLW) to improve climate, nutrition and food security, and economic development.

Residential Food Waste Regulatory Strategies Oct. 4, 2023, 1:30 - 3 p.m. EDT (virtual). The Northeast Recycling Council and Sure-Close are co-hosting a seminar examining food waste regulations and strategies in Vermont and California, and how they have been implemented.

Serving up Sustainability: From Restaurants to the Home Kitchen Oct. 18, 2023, 4 - 5:30 p.m. EDT (virtual). Join Illinois Green Alliance for a webinar on sustainability and waste reduction in food service.

News & Media

USDA Expands Efforts to Prevent and Reduce Food Loss Waste - On Sept. 20, 2023, USDA announced an investment of $25 million toward FLW efforts, including awards of over $4 million to FLW projects in the Community Food Projects (CFP) and Food and Agriculture Service Learning (FASLP) grants. Funds will also support forthcoming FLW efforts in collaboration with the National 4-H Council and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.

New $10 Million USAID Program to Reduce Food Loss and Waste - On Sept. 20, 2023,USAID announced the $10 million investment will launch their Food Loss and Waste Accelerator in partnership with the Department of State through the Feed the Future Initiative.

Funding Opportunities

USDA Community Food Projects (CFP) Competitive Grants Program (Due Oct. 30, 2023) - Planning and implementation grants provide eligible nonprofits, tribal organizations, and food program service providers federal assistance for projects that promote community food sufficiency and food security in low-income communities; $4,800,000 is available. The Community Foods Projects Competitive Grant Program has a Training and Technical Assistance grant, currently awarded to Third Sector New England to provide technical assistance during the application process. They can advise on the grant program, and can offer one on one support with questions such as: (i) How to design a good project? (ii) How to communicate ideas to reviewers to improve success? (iii) How to make an application more competitive? They can be reached from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. PST at [email protected] or by phone: 971-801-8281.

USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants (deadlines vary) - The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. Agricultural producers may also apply for new energy efficient equipment and new system loans for agricultural production and processing. Funds may be used for the purchase and installation of renewable energy systems, including anaerobic digesters (that can incorporate food waste as a feedstock). This program is open for Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024, with varying deadlines.

EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (Due April 1, 2024; tribes and territories due March 1, 2024) – EPA is announcing the availability of $4.6 billion across two implementation grant competitions, one general competition and one specifically for tribes and territories. Under these funding opportunities, eligible applicants will compete for climate pollution reduction implementation grants to fund measures in their state-, municipality-, tribe-, or territory-specific climate action plans. As part of its application evaluation, EPA will prioritize measures that achieve the greatest reduction in GHG emissions. Measures that address waste (including food waste) and materials management are within the scope.

For more information, see the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant website. Sign up for EPA notifications about the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program here. EPA will host an Oct. 3 webinar for the general competition and an Oct. 5 webinar for the tribes and territories competition.

Learn more at EPA’s Resources, Waste and Climate Change webpage. EPA also maintains a list of local government climate action plans that include materials and waste management actions.

EPA 2023 Environmental Education Grants (Due Nov. 8, 2023) EPA announced that up to $3.6 million in funding for locally focused environmental education grants is now available under the 2023 Environmental Education Local Grant Program. EPA will award grants in each of the EPA’s 10 Regions, between $50,000-$100,000 each, for a total of 30-40 grants nationwide. The program includes support for projects that reflect the intersection of environmental issues with climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, preventing future water quality and human health issues, in addition to other environmental topics. Read the full press release.

Resources

Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR)’s Community Composting 101 Course - Free Enrollment until Sept. 30 (for certain locations). Do you want to start a community-based composting project, but aren’t sure where to start? Are you involved with an existing community composting initiative, but need to brush up on the best practices for engaging folks in your project? Do you need to train your staff or project partners in the fundamentals of hot composting?  Learn more in this self-paced, online certificate course.

Updated Excess Food Opportunities Map - EPA recently released Version 3.0 of their Excess Food Opportunities Map, which supports nationwide diversion of excess food from landfills.

New USDA FLW Video Landing Page – Watch our collection of FLW videos on our new website page. Videos include roundtable recordings and FLW tips and best practices.

ICYMI – EPA released two social marketing toolkits this summer;  Composting Food Scraps in Your Community and Preventing Wasted Food in Your Community.