According to a recent report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), food upcycling is one of the three most environmentally friendly ways to mitigate food waste. As companies try to reduce their impact on the environment, many are rescuing food and using innovative methods to produce upcycled products. Upcycled foods are made with ingredients that would not have otherwise been consumed by humans, according to the Upcycled Food Association. These foods might have gone to landfills, anaerobic digesters or incinerators, or been converted into animal feed. Anna Hammond, the CEO of up ..read more

Across the city of Atlanta, Georgia, many organizations are working to build a food system that centers community wellbeing with the health of the planet. These organizations are supporting local food producers and regional economies, offering educational resources and agricultural training, and working to ensure that their neighbors don’t go hungry. On April 14, Food Tank is heading to Atlanta to partner with Spelman College and Emory University for the Summit “Empowering Eaters: Access, Affordability, and Healthy Choices.” Held in support of the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and He ..read more

A version of this piece was featured in Food Tank’s newsletter, released weekly on Thursdays. To make sure it lands straight in your inbox and to be among the first to receive it, subscribe now by clicking here. Here’s a trivia question: Where are the most important transformations in the food system taking place right now? a. The United Nations headquarters b. In the U.S. Congress c. At a high-level dialogue in Europe or the Middle East d. Within a few miles of where you’re reading this letter If you answered (d), you’re correct! When we talk about food system transfo ..read more

During The Players Tailgate at Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, NV, Food Recovery Network (FRN) and local college students will recover surplus food to prevent it from going to waste.  FRN, a student-led movement dedicated to fighting food waste and hunger, will work with volunteers, including students from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, to rescue uneaten food and donate it to the Just One Project. The nonprofit recipient works to address food insecurity in southern Nevada through a pop up mobile market, a brick and mortar community market, and grocery delivery.  “We all deserve a ..read more

The United States is now the second country, after Singapore, to approve the sale of cultivated meat. Cultivated meat is an application of the newest category of animal products: the animal cell itself. Like conventional meat, cultivated meat contains animal muscle, fat, and collagen. This muscle, fat, and collagen, however, are grown directly from animal cells, rather than by raising and slaughtering an animal. While cultivated meat may hold promise for producing more humane and socially sustainable protein, it may also help solve some of the negative environmental impacts of industrial lives ..read more

Careit: Transforming Food Donation  Careit, a food donation and rescue software, is working to empower nonprofits and communities across the United States by providing equal access to surplus food and resources. Through a free matching marketplace, Careit connects businesses and institutions with excess food to local nonprofit organizations addressing food insecurity. “We have seen an uptick in food insecurity in the past year, so now we’re opening up to new types of food to come into this starving food system,” Alyson Schill, Co-Founder and CEO of Careit, tells Food Tank. “That’s ha ..read more

Contributing authors: Liza Greene, Elena Seeley, and Alessandra Uriarte The food and agriculture movement made incredible strides over the last year—but our work isn’t done yet! The ambition to transform food systems is demonstrated every day by networks building capacity for farmers and ranchers, organizations forming unusual partnerships to achieve shared goals, programs giving voice to youth, and initiatives investing in community-led innovations and solutions. These groups are continuing to push for food and agriculture systems that are economically, socially, and environmentally just ..read more

The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced the draft of a national strategy to reduce food loss and waste in the United States. The actions in the plan are designed to help the country meet its goal to halve food loss and waste by 2030. According to research from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) food is the most common material found in landfills, contributing to almost 60 percent of landfill methane emissions. The new National Strategy was developed to reduce the amount of food sent to these facilities, laying out approaches to divert surplu ..read more

Food Tank is highlighting 24 cookbooks that showcase a variety of cuisines from around the world. Readers can explore Sandra A. Gutierrez’s Latinísimo, which looks at the fundamentals of Latin American home cooking. Made Here by Send Chinatown Love introduces signature dishes from New York City’s Asian communities. In Still We Rise, Erika Council teaches readers about the Black culinary traditions of the American South. And Imad Alarnab’s Imad’s Syrian Kitchen, celebrates the decadent flavors of Syrian cuisine. Whether you are looking to add a new dish to your repertoi ..read more

During a recent panel conversation at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, food systems experts discussed opportunities for food policy and the private sector to address food loss and waste. The conversation was hosted by Food Tank and the Nordic Council of Ministers. According to research from the United Nations, if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind the United States and China. For years, panelists note, advocates have been working to bring attention to the issue of food loss and waste. But Yvette Cabrera, Director of Food Waste for th ..read more