West Concord, Mass.-based technology firm Divert Inc. has released data showing wasted food measured nearly 30% higher in summertime than the winter months.
Divert provides what the company describes as an end-to-end solution that prevents waste by maximizing the freshness of food and recovers edible food to serve communities in need. In addition, the company converts wasted food into renewable energy.
“While wasted food is truly a year-round crisis, our data indicates that the summer months are the leading source of food waste throughout the year,” Divert co-founder and CEO Ryan Begin said in a news release. “This increased volume stresses food donation networks since there is more perishable food to move, requiring backup infrastructure to be in place to accommodate these swings in material to avoid landfilling.”
Begin said the findings demonstrate the importance of data in having visibility into this problem.
“From here, we need real action and solution implementation with stakeholders across the industry — from consumers to retailers, food manufacturers to restaurants,” he said.
Divert reviewed its 2020 to 2023 wasted food data from retail, foodservice and industrial customers at certain operating facilities across the U.S. The company looked at the total food waste material collected each year, comparing the summer months of July, August and September with the winter months of January, February and March of the same calendar year, the release said.
The average across the four-year period showed a marked increase (30%) in food waste during the summer.
The release said Divert has identified several key factors among the contributors to the summertime increase, as well as solutions to address them:
- Extreme heat driven by climate change — The Earth recently saw its warmest two days since at least 1940 and last year was reported as the warmest year on record. With higher temperatures, the margin of error for mishandling food increases significantly, the release said.
- Changing consumer behavior in the summer months — The summer months are synonymous with fresh, high-quality produce available at grocery stores and a surge in consumers dining out at restaurants and bars. Grocers and restaurants are sourcing more food to meet the demand but are challenged to determine real-time and accurate forecasting and replenishment. Technologies can be implemented that uncover key data and insights to better inform food retailers and restaurants, the release said.
- Peak season for perishable food products — Summer means more highly perishable food products, such as berries and stone fruit, are available. With overabundance or overpurchasing of food, improvements can be made to food donation programs or, in the case of grocery stores, marking down any soon-to-expire products for consumers, the release said.
