An alliance of food manufacturers, retailers and foodservice operators announced a toolkit to help food sector businesses reduce the amount of waste. The Best Practices and Emerging Solutions Toolkit from the Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA), a cross-sector industry initiative led by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the National Restaurant Association (NRA).
Approximately 80 billion pounds of food waste are discarded in U.S. landfills each year. The majority of food waste is generated at the residential level, but it can also be a byproduct of manufacturing, retail and foodservice operations. The FWRA toolkit focuses on strategies food manufacturers, retailers and foodservice operators can employ to keep food out of landfills, and to reduce food waste at the source.
“The sad truth is that while food is going to waste, 37 million Americans struggle to put enough food on the table to feed their families. The safe, edible food that is diverted from the waste stream to food banks through model practices showcased in the toolkit make a positive social impact on communities across the country by providing sustenance to those in need,” shared Karen Hanner, director of manufacturing product sourcing at Feeding America, and a key contributor to the toolkit.
California’s historic drought is already producing long lines at San Joaquin Valley food banks. The Gualco Group, Inc., as co-founder of the California Food Waste Roundtable, supports actions to eliminate “farm to dumpster.”
The model practices and emerging solutions were compiled from the more than 30 FWRA member companies that are focused on reducing food waste within their operations. Specific topics discussed include:
http://www.foodwastealliance.org/full-width/fwra-publishes-toolkit-reducing-food-waste/