The USDA recognizes the impacts of food loss and food waste on food security and the environment. USDA, in concert with agency partners, is working toward the goal of reducing food loss and food waste by 50 percent by 2030.
In the latest effort in reduction activities, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is leading a national Community Foods Project (CFP) Food Loss and Waste Training and Technical Assistance Grants Program, funded through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). A total of $8 million is being provided to 14 organizations across the nation.
The program supports projects that align with the National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics, released in June 2024. The program prioritizes preventing food from becoming waste, diverting edible food to people through donation or upcycling, and feeding animals.
Fourteen organizations have been awarded funding to both reduce food loss and waste, and educate a variety of audiences about their reduction techniques. These organizations are diverse in size, geographic location, and in their focus on one or more parts of the food supply chain.
Founded in January 2020, Pete’s Garden makes it easier for families to share wholesome meals together at home.
"Our food recovery operations recover high-quality, surplus prepared foods from Kansas City area caterers, restaurants, and food service operations. Volunteers package the food into family-sized meal portions in reusable take-home containers. The meals are distributed free through local social service organizations that serve families with children, such as Head Start and after-school programs. In 2024, Pete's Garden will recover and redirect over 150,000 pounds of prepared proteins and sides, the equivalent of 125,000 free, restaurant-quality meals.
In addition to food recovery, Pete’s Garden partners with high school culinary arts and family and consumer science classrooms to engage students in preparing take-home meals for families in their communities. This program, Kids Feeding Kids, provides educators with a standards-based food justice and culinary curriculum focused on increasing food access, reducing food insecurity, and raising awareness around the social and environmental impacts of food waste. For the 2024-25 school year, Kids Feeding Kids will be in approximately 40 Kansas and Missouri high schools with over 2,500 students participating to prepare over 20,000 free take-home meals.
The objective of this SARE project is to double the amount of good-to-eat prepared food donations from the Kansas City food service sector. We will work to validate ReFED data that suggests that just 0.15% of surplus food is currently being donated, and we will develop and implement an awareness-building campaign to encourage more food service operations to donate their surplus. We will develop a playbook to help other cities increase donations from the food service sector in order to redirect good food from landfills to family dinner tables."
Dig Deeper
Explore other Food Loss and Waste funded projects at: www.sare.org/resources/food-loss-and-waste/.
For more information about this grant program, contact Lisa Johnson, National SARE Food Loss and Waste Grant Manager at FLW@sare.org.