The Rockefeller Foundation has collaborated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and 10 other private and non-governmental organizations to officially launch Further with Food: Centre for Food Loss and Waste Solutions: an online hub designed to help realize the national goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030.
Further With Food serves as a common online destination for the various groups tackling food waste, including academics, businesses, government entities, investors, NGOs, and individuals to share resources and learn from one another. The website features a rich variety of content including best practices for preventing, rescuing, and recycling food loss and waste; educational materials; research results; and information on existing government, business, and community initiatives. By consolidating information, tools, and research, the Further With Food platform highlights proven solutions and new, innovative ideas to collectively tackle the problem of food loss and waste.
“Achieving our shared goals depends on harnessing the tremendous energy and innovation bubbling up across the country. Further With Food will be a place to compare notes on what’s working, to build on new ideas, and to scale the most effective solutions so that, together, we can build a more resilient and productive food system,” said Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation.
Millions of tons of food loss and waste occur in the United States each year. Losses and wastage occur across all levels of the food supply chain, costing an estimated US$161.6 billion each year. Beyond the economic cost, food waste has far-reaching environmental impacts, ranging from the wasting of natural resources, such as water, energy, and land that went into the food’s production to the greenhouse gas emissions generated as it slowly decays in landfills.
Other partner organizations include the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Feeding America, the National Consumers League, the National Restaurant Association, and the World Wildlife Fund, among others. By bringing people, organizations, and sectors together to learn from one another, Further With Food aims to streamline efforts and strengthen the movement to reduce food loss and waste across the United States.
