Jessup, Md.-based Pete Pappas & Sons Inc has joined the EPA-USDA Food Loss and Waste Champions 2030 program through a commitment to track, report and reduce food waste.
The U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions are businesses and organizations that have made a public commitment to reduce food loss and waste in their own operations in the United States by 50 percent by the year 2030, according to the USDA website.
“As a produce grower, manufacturer and wholesaler, food waste is the single largest waste category at our Maryland facility. We combat food loss and waste daily and work closely with local nonprofits, farms and composting facilities to ensure that food from our facility never ends up in a landfill. Our diversion protocols are flourishing and making a huge difference for us,” Helen Pappas, director of marketing and sustainability, said in a news release.
Last year the company successfully diverted roughly 3 million pounds of food waste into alternative waste streams instead of landfills. It joined this notable program in order to set an example to combat food waste within the food industry for years to come.
“At Pete Pappas & Sons we see sustainability as an opportunity to take a comprehensive look and create operational efficiencies, combat food waste and lessen our environmental footprint.” Paul Pappas, president at the company, said in the release.
The company has a three-part process to work toward a zero food-waste goal, according to its website. These goals include donating all unsold edible fruits and vegetables to local nonprofits. The company is also sending inedible, by humans, product to local animal farms in Maryland and composting all additional food waste including employee meal leftovers and compostable facility products.
