Ohio State University is leading a $2.5 million USDA-funded effort to reduce food loss and waste in the United States.
Brian Law, professor of food, agricultural and environmental sciences at Ohio State University, will oversee the pilot consumer campaign targeted at reducing food waste at home. Law will work with Rutgers University to develop educational messaging and campaign materials. Law said the campaign is part of the USDA’s efforts to combat food waste following significant investments, including $57 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.
“Around a third of all food remains unconsumed,” Lo points out. “With this project, we want to identify campaigns that can help consumers reduce the amount of food they waste, helping them realize the benefits of saving more money, helping the environment and supporting food security.”
Low’s research focuses on how human behavior affects food waste. He found that confusion over food packaging dates leads to unnecessary waste, and that implementing uniform, nationwide food labelling standards could significantly reduce wasted food. Low noted that this work is in line with both inter-agency and international efforts to reduce food waste.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a renewed agreement to reduce food loss and waste and that USAID has joined the effort, underscoring a unified effort to educate the American public on the issue.
Additionally, USDA has expanded its U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions to include industry leaders committed to halving food waste by 2030. Low stressed that consumer behavior plays a key role, saying using leftovers can save money and time while also contributing to reducing waste overall.
“We want consumers in Ohio and across the country to be empowered to find creative ways to use their leftovers,” Law said. “Too often, we spend a lot of money and time creating delicious meals only to have them sit in the fridge or end up in the trash because we can’t find a way to incorporate them into future meals.”
Nearly 80 billion pounds of food are sent to municipal solid waste landfills each year in the United States, making food the largest category of material disposed of in landfills. This waste emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and contributes to environmental damage. Low added that reducing food waste, especially at the household level, is essential to reducing emissions and improving the efficiency of the food system.
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Organizing to End Hunger is one tool groups in Oregon are using to highlight and address the issue.
Workers said outreach is especially important in rural areas of the state, where food insecurity is higher.
Eddie Melendres, southeast Oregon regional coordinator for the Ontario-based Oregon Food Bank, said food pantries are seeing increased needs as food assistance from the pandemic expires. Melendres stressed that people can speak up about hunger issues.
“This is really important for people to realize the power they may have that they maybe didn’t realize they had,” Melendres emphasized, “and how they can take collective action to question, show up and hold elected officials accountable to effect change in their communities.”
Oregon’s average food insecurity rate was about 13% in 2022, according to Feeding America data. The eastern part of the state was even higher than the national average. In Malheur County, where Ontario is located, the food insecurity rate was 16%.
Melendres said organizing takes many forms, including hosting workshops and forums, and meeting people wherever the work requires. He’s taken people to Salem to lobby for bills, attended city council meetings to make public comments and educated people about the power of writing letters to the editor.
Melendres added that he is reaching out to people who feel helpless.
“Try to make connections with people who may be excluded or not included,” Melendres explained.
More than 100 organizations, including the Oregon Food Bank, are lobbying the state to pass a “Food for All Oregonians” bill that would expand food access to people of different immigration statuses.
Sienna Kaske, chief campaign strategist for the Oregon Food Bank, said ending hunger requires collaboration with other groups that work outside of the food sector.
“Whether we’re addressing housing issues or health care inequities, there’s always something that connects us around food,” Kaske noted.
Disclosure: The Oregon Food Bank contributes to our fund for community issues and volunteering, education, health issues and hunger/food/nutrition coverage. If you would like to support news in the public interest, click here.
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In North Carolina, where 1.4 million people struggle to find healthy food, a new mobile market is tackling the challenge of food insecurity. Rocky Mount-based nonprofit Ripe for Revival has partnered with Coastal Credit Union to increase access to fresh produce in underserved areas.
Jonathan Tindall, operations manager for Ripe for Revival, said the organization has a dual mission of supporting local farms and communities, and by rescuing surplus produce that doesn’t make it to grocery stores, Ripe for Revival creates a pay-as-you-go marketplace that reaches the communities that need it most.
“This is just a way for us to get fresh food to areas that otherwise can’t afford it or don’t have access to it, because some of the areas we go to don’t have grocery stores and have to drive an hour round trip,” he explained.
To fulfill their mission, Ripe for Revival has converted five city buses and two 24-foot cargo trailers into mobile food stores, and with the help of a grant of more than $100 from Coastal Credit Union, they were able to add another trailer.
These mobile trucks make the rounds at about 18 locations, serving about 10 counties per week and offering fresh produce, eggs, meat and other items at prices about 30 percent lower than regular grocery stores. Tyndall said the addition of Coastal Credit Union-branded trailers will help expand this impact into new areas and continue to grow.
“Some of their funding has allowed us to expand into new counties, so they’ll help us expand into Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties, and also expand our reach into Wake County,” he added.
Tyndall explained that the organization envisions expanding Life for Revival’s work to other counties, with a goal of serving 23 counties and hosting 45 events per week by the end of the year. He said these efforts will not only help improve the health of communities, but also reduce food waste and break down stereotypes around food insecurity.
“What do a lot of college students live on? Some of them joke about ramen. So it’s actually a form of food insecurity,” he explained. “Some of the communities we visit don’t have anything but Family Dollar.” [store]So there’s nothing fresh available for them to buy.”
He said these mobile markets are not limited to just those in need, but are designed to serve everyone, regardless of their situation. More information can be found online at ripeforrevival.com or on social media platforms.
Disclosure: Coastal Credit Union contributes to the fund for coverage of budget policy and priorities, civic engagement, community issues and volunteerism, and consumer issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, please click here.
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One farm bill under debate in Congress would cut billions of dollars in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments to agriculture-dependent states, including Iowa, a move that has drawn opposition from hunger-fighting groups in the state.
The farm bill introduced by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) would cut SNAP benefits by nearly $30 billion over the next decade, including $170 million in cuts in Iowa, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Luke Elzinga, executive director of the Iowa Hunger Coalition, said based on projections, the cuts will disproportionately affect the state’s most vulnerable people.
“That’s especially concerning,” Elzinga stressed, “because food banks and food pantries across the state are currently facing record demand.”
The USDA’s Saving Food Plan, which sets the funding formula for SNAP and other food assistance programs, would also freeze future benefits.Thompson and others argue that their farm bill amounts to responsible budgeting and planning.
SNAP benefits are already insufficient to provide the cheapest meals in the state, falling about 20% below what’s needed to put food on the table, according to figures tracked by Elzinga’s coalition.
“We’re talking about families getting less than $6 per person per day,” Elzinga said. “That’s already not enough to get by. Many are struggling with rising food prices, housing costs and child care costs.”
While this is not the final version of the farm bill that will be debated, Elzinga argued that releasing a bill that would drastically cut SNAP benefits is not a good starting point for negotiations, as in his view it would give Congress the impression that low-income people are not a priority.
Republican Rep. Zach Nunn of Iowa has been a leading Republican voice on the farm bill from his position on the Agriculture Committee. Widely known for his conservative stance on social issues, Nunn has come under fire for saying that the farm bill’s “nutrition aid is primarily targeted to communities in Democratic states.”
Nunn has also previously supported significant budget cuts that would affect anti-hunger programs like WIC and SNAP.
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