The produce industry has long treated surplus crops as a localized demand issue, often leaving viable fruit unharvested or diverted to low-margin processing.
A recent pilot project and subsequent report published by the U.S. Food Waste Pact aims to flip that paradigm by proving the financial and operational viability of concurrent secondary harvesting.
The pilot tested whether the surplus strawberries could be operationally viable for both foodservice operators and the grower, while delivering increased revenue for the grower, financial savings for the foodservice operators and environmental benefits for all.
The initiative was sparked by earlier supply chain research revealing an untapped opportunity at the farm level.
“In 2024, we conducted a whole-chain study — essentially a food waste hotspot analysis,” says Kristen Lee, director of business initiatives for ReFED. “Part one found that 25% of strawberries that were otherwise perfectly edible were being left in the field. That number really prompted us to look deeper.”
To test whether a fresh commercial channel could capture this value, the U.S. Food Waste Pact (ReFED and World Wildlife Fund) worked with three of its major foodservice signatories — Compass Group, Sodexo and ISS Guckenheimer — alongside a produce distributor and an anonymous California grower. Spanning 33 high-volume business and industry sites across Northern and Southern California, the pilot successfully rescued nearly 10,000 pounds of surplus strawberries, cutting total on-farm loss rates by 51%.
Strong Financial and Environmental Returns
The economic results delivered compelling incentives for both ends of the supply chain:
- Total pounds of strawberries rescued: 9,992.
- Total on-farm loss rate: Reduced by 51%.
- Total GHG and water intensity reduction: 31%.
- Reduction in plastic clamshell units: 50% or 4,996.
- The grower realized an 80% increase in revenue compared to juicing-grade strawberries.
- The cost of surplus strawberries was 22.4% lower compared to No. 1 strawberries for foodservice operators.
Despite the financial wins, the project highlighted logistical friction points, particularly around perishability and supply chain alignment.
“From a perishability standpoint, strawberries weren’t really the best fit,” Lee says. “How can we potentially use our learnings from this to focus on heartier commodities ... that maybe are heartier, like brassicas, or that are not as perishable?”
Furthermore, the pilot underscored that scaling these solutions requires shifting focus from buyer demand to systemic supply chain collaboration.
“Previously, the push for imperfect produce was driven almost entirely by buyers,” Lee says. “One of our main takeaways is that this isn’t just a demand-side issue — it’s a supply-side issue, too. Moving forward, we have to include growers early in these conversations.”
The findings are already catalyzing supply chain movement. The participating grower is actively researching continuous culling on a 20-acre parcel alongside frozen channels, the partner broker is expanding surplus strawberry offerings into the Northeast and operators are piloting heartier surplus commodities like peppers and broccoli. Looking ahead, the U.S. Food Waste Pact plans to facilitate cross-supply chain dialogues in 2027 to expand concurrent harvest contracts, building on this pilot and an upcoming hotspot report focused on international banana supply chains.
