The USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency have added seven companies to the list of U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions.
Those seven companies — Albertsons Co., BJ’s Wholesale Club, Danone North America, Smith-field Foods Inc., Starbucks, Sysco and Tyson Foods — have committed to reducing food loss and waste in their U.S. operations by 50% by 2030, according to a news release.
“Addressing food loss and waste is key to a resilient, climate-smart food system,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release. “I welcome the new 2030 Champions and applaud their innovative efforts to reduce food loss and waste, divert wholesome excess food to those in need and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by keeping food out of landfills.”
The new 2030 Champions have committed to specific food loss and waste reduction activities in a number of ways, according to the release:
- Albertsons Co. is recovering food by donating to local organizations, and recycling food waste through compost, animal feed and other methods;
- BJ’s Wholesale Club donates unsold produce, meat and other products on a weekly basis to local Feeding America member food banks;
- Danone North America is working to reduce food waste within their operations and supply chain;
- Smithfield Foods Inc. is innovating its feed formulations to include byproducts and investing in specialized equipment to facilitate the efficient processing of difficult-to-recycle packaged bakery products;
- Starbucks is leveraging its FoodShare program to donate unsold food to food banks and mobile pantries;
- Sysco is diverting waste from landfills through food donations and contributing food waste to animal feed and composting efforts; and
- Tyson Foods is improving inventory management and supply planning, as well as composting and donating wholesome food.
The new members join a growing list of existing companies representing all segments of the agri-food supply chain. See the full list of 2030 Champions here.
