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Food waste is a “a big problem with big numbers behind it,” says Dana Gunders, President of ReFED. The U.N. Environment Programme estimates that 1 billion meals go to waste every day, contributing to at least 8-10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally. And in the U.S. alone, uneaten food equates to roughly US$380 billion.
Gunders also says that awareness of the problem has increased significantly. That’s exciting, but it’s also important to turn that awareness into action. And fortunately there are solutions, from organizations that rescue surplus food and redirect to those in need to apps and new technologies that help us manage the excess.
To kick off Earth Month on April 1, Food Tank, in collaboration with Compass Group, NYU Steinhardt, and Mill, will host a special Stop Food Waste Day celebration in New York City. The event will bring together food systems experts, local food-waste warriors, Broadway performers, youth poets, surprise celebrity guests, and more to uplift and amplify the different ways we can take action on food waste.
Speakers include (in alphabetical order): Jennifer Berg, NYU Steinhardt; Chris Ivens-Brown, Compass Group; Natasha Bernstein Bunzl, NYU Steinhardt; Andrew Fisher Jr., 10 Year-Old Youth Poet; Harrison Herz, NYU Steinhardt; Tony Hillery, Harlem Grown; Sam Kass, Investor, Chef, Policy Advisor; Amy Keister, Compass Group; Robert Lee, Rescuing Leftover Cuisine; Priyanka Naik, Celebrity Chef and Cookbook Author; Jennifer Noble, Broadway Actor; Prahlada Rastogi, 10 Year-Old Youth Poet; Merrill Schaefer, 13 Year-Old Youth Poet; Harry Tannenbaum, Mill; and more to be announced soon!
Learn more about ways to take action on food waste in a new piece on Forbes by clicking HERE.
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Photo courtesy of Fredrik Ohlander
