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WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2014 – A friendly competition among the nation's food banks to sign up the most donors in the U.S. Food Waste Challenge is drawing to a close, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Feeding America will determine a winner in early September. The food bank that registers the most donors as participants in the U.S. Food Waste Challenge will be honored in an event hosted by the Department of Agriculture. The competition was launched on July 22 and closes this week.
Food bank donors and partners can join the competition by signing up for the U.S. Food Waste Challenge on Feeding America's website and listing the activities they will undertake to help reduce, recover, or recycle food waste in their operations. USDA's Economic Research Service estimated food waste in the U.S. at between 30-40 percent of the food supply.
"When we do our part to lower food waste, we can help ease pressure on our natural resources and feed families in need," said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. "Through the Food Waste Challenge, food banks, producers, manufactures, and retailers are stepping up to do just that."
The U.S. Food Waste Challenge was inaugurated in June 2013 by USDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and calls on businesses and organizations to join the effort to reduce food waste in the United States. The goal of the U.S. Food Waste Challenge is to lead a fundamental shift in how we think about and manage food and food waste in America. Participants join the Challenge by listing what activities they will undertake to help reduce, recover, or recycle food waste in their operations. The Challenge includes a goal of 400 partners by 2015 and 1,000 by 2020.
By joining the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, businesses that donate to the nation's food banks are adding their voice to the growing movement to reduce food waste and keep wholesome food where it belongs: on someone's plate.
More information about the U.S. Food Waste Challenge is at http://usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/.
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Note to Reporters: USDA Office of Communications offers news releases, program announcements and media advisories on this topic. To sign up for updates, go to https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAOC/subscriber/new and sign up for "U.S. Food Waste Challenge" under the Topics of Interest section.
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