Each year, 38% of food produced in the U.S. goes uneaten, Each year, the United States generates a huge amount of food that goes uneaten or unsold–over 241 million tons. Of that, 80 million tons of food winds up in landfills, is incinerated, is left to rot in the field, or otherwise goes to waste. This waste consumes 22% of all fresh water and 16% of cropland in the U.S., and makes up 24% of landfill inputs. The U.S. has attempted to address food waste through a range of policies, such as offering liability protections to food donors and food recovery organizations, providing tax incentives for food donations, and supporting new funding and programming for food waste reduction through the 2018 Farm Bill. In addition, recent federal agency actions at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration have aimed to reduce food waste, but there is still more that can be done.
Our Approach
The Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) is recognized as the industry leader for our work in identifying, analyzing, and recommending improvements to laws and policies that impact how much food goes to waste in the U.S. FLPC has been heavily engaged in federal legislative and agency activities to reduce food waste, including publishing various reports on federal policy opportunities to reduce food waste, offering analyses that led to the introduction of several pieces of legislation on topics such as standardized date labeling and liability protection for food donations, and advocating for food waste programs and funding in the U.S. Farm Bill. The 2018 Farm Bill, for the first time ever, included dedicated funding and programs to address food waste, including several based on FLPC’s recommendations.
FLPC has conducted research on opportunities to address food waste in the 2023 Farm Bill and include food waste programs and funding in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation, analyzed and offered recommendations on the COVID-19-era Farmers to Families Food Box Program, and collaborated with NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), World Wildlife Fund, and ReFED on a U.S. Food Loss and Waste Action Plan for Congress and the Administration.
The Zero Food Waste Coalition
In 2023, FLPC teamed up with ReFED, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to launch the Zero Food Waste Coalition, a national effort focused on informing and influencing policy at the local, state, and federal levels and sharing policy updates and opportunities for engagement with partners and stakeholders around the country. The coalition brings consumers, businesses and government together to advocate for ambitious food waste policy solutions that contribute to the U.S. goal of halving food waste by 2030, reduce methane emissions from landfills, improve food access and nutrition security, and build more sustainable food systems.
Federal Food Waste Resources
Standardizing Date Labeling
- Federal Date Labeling Standardization Website
- Promoting Food Donation: Date Labeling Law and Policy, produced for the Global Food Donation Policy Atlas (2021)
- Date Labels: The Case for Federal Legislation (2019)
- Consumer Perceptions of Date Labels: National Survey (2016)
- Consumer Perceptions of Date Labels Infographic (2016)
- The Dating Game: How Confusing Labels Land Billions of Pounds of Food in the Trash (2013)
Food Donation
- The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas: United States [Main Page, Legal Guide, Policy Recommendations, Executive Summary](2020 – present)
- Legal Fact Sheet: The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act and FDIA (2023) (Spanish)
- Don’t Waste, Donate: Enhancing Food Donations Through Federal Policy (2017)
- Federal Enhanced Tax Deduction for Food Donation: A Legal Guide (2016)
- Recommendations to Strengthen the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act (2016)
Food Waste Amid COVID-19
- Strengthening Food Donation Operations During COVID-19: Key Issues and Best Practices for Governments (2021)
- An Evaluation of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program (2021)
- Federal Policies to Support the Food System and Consumers During COVID-19 (2020)
- COVID-19 Response Issue Brief – Feeding People in their Homes: Opportunities to Bolster Home Food Delivery for Vulnerable Communities (2020)
Holistic Food Waste Recommendations
- Zero Food Waste Coalition’s Top Farm Bill Priorities (2023)
- Opportunities to Reduce Food Waste in the 2023 U.S. Farm Bill Webinar from ReFED, HFLPC, NRDC & WWF (2022)
- Opportunities to Reduce Food Waste in the 2023 Farm Bill [Executive Summary, Full Report] (2022)
- A Call to Action on U.S. Food Loss and Waste Policy (2021)
- Leveraging Child Nutrition Reauthorization to Reduce Food Waste (2021)
- Opportunities to Reduce Food Waste in the 2018 Farm Bill [Executive Summary, Full Report] (2017)
