The ReFED Food Waste Action Network Member Spotlights
Ways to Engage
FWAN Member Spotlights
Member Spotlights
Our Member Spotlight Series features a different Food Waste Action Network (FWAN) member organization for each installment – including any asks or offers that they have for the Network. The goal of the Member Spotlight Series is to give FWAN members a peek into the amazing work that others in our community are doing and to connect members who could potentially benefit from a collaboration.
A Simple Gesture
A Simple Gesture partners with food industry businesses that have wholesome extra food and distributes it to their 38+ vetted food nonprofit partners to feed their neighbors in Guilford County who are experiencing food insecurity. Their vision is to decrease food disparities while creating a more sustainable world. Their focus is on keeping food at its highest value to feed people. They work in tandem with legislative actions by becoming the example of county and now North Carolina State Standard Operating Procedures (rolling out at the end of the year) to decrease barriers food donors may face while increasing the support that their feeding nonprofit partners require (i.e., cold storage and an increase in healthy and fresh food offerings).
Bioenergy Devco
Bioenergy Devco is a global leader in the design, engineering, construction, financing, and operation of advanced anaerobic digestion systems. Their proven technology uses naturally occurring biological processes and provides a scalable option to help communities and businesses transform their food waste and energy sectors.
Denver Department of Public Health and Environment
Denver’s Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) is the city’s nationally accredited public health agency with a mission to empower Denver’s communities to live better, longer. Mayor Michael B. Hancock approved the Denver Food Vision 2030, a document laying out a food waste reduction goal of 57% by 2030, and DDPHE is committed to advancing strategies that prevent food waste.
Drexel University Food Lab
The Drexel Food Lab is a faculty-mentored interdisciplinary food product design and culinary innovation research lab solving real-world problems in sustainability, health promotion, and access. We focus on projects that improve the health of people, planet, and economies. Food waste prevention and minimization projects often do all three. We work closely with food upcyclers in their work to support the upcycled food economy and prevent food waste.
Enagon
Enagon is on a mission to make the world a better place by diverting material from landfills and waterways and by finding novel and innovative market applications for those materials through their processing.
Food Rescue US South FL
Food Rescue US South FL is the South Florida site for the national nonprofit Food Rescue US. Since launching in 2018, Food Rescue US South FL has recovered over 6.5 million pounds of food from Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Beach Convention Center, Fontainbleau Hotel, Trader Joes, and more than 150 other local South Florida food donors. Using a team of volunteer rescuers numbering over 1,000, all food rescued is directly transferred to local shelters, food pantries, and faith-based organizations located within five miles of the food donor, so the local community in need benefits from the food being donated.
Grassroots Grocery
Grassroots Grocery is a nonprofit with a mission to utilize the power of volunteers to bring fresh food into the heart of disadvantaged communities while reducing the amount of food going to waste.
imPASTA
imPASTA diverts potential food waste by donating any out of spec produced product to local underserved communities. There is no food wasted in the production of their products as all organic waste is bioprocessed as well. imPASTA’s Already Spaghetti is a product that utilizes upcycled spaghetti squash to create a healthy ready-to-eat noodle.
Leanpath
Learn how Leanpath is helping hospitality and foodservice businesses cut food waste in half...
Matriark Foods
Matriark Foods works with farmers, processors, businesses, and governments to boldly change food systems for the benefit of future generations, simultaneously preventing the negative environmental impacts of food loss while creating the healthy food we all need. Matriark creates access from excess by upcycling farm surplus and fresh-cut remnants into healthy, delicious, low sodium vegetable products for schools, hospitals, food banks, and other foodservice outlets.
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) is a four-year, nonprofit, private college of visual art and design. MIAD is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of 39 leading art schools in the United States and Canada. The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) was founded in 1974. It is the successor to the Layton School of Art, founded in 1920. MIAD is Wisconsin’s only college devoted exclusively to the education of artists and designers. It is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD) and the Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Promus
Promus invented a high-tech, delivered food solution that significantly improves food safety, quality, and satisfaction. Their technology delivers accountability, trust, and visibility by going beyond GPS tracking. They track and control temperature, humidity, and freshness indicators, so guests get their food as the kitchen intended, and meals stay fresher and economically viable for longer.
Raley's
As a grocery retailer, the potential for food waste in our operations is enormous. With this in mind, Raley’s has long standing initiatives in place to address food waste. Food for Families was founded to address the needs of the food insecure in the communities we serve and, in partnership with Feeding America, has raised over $9 million and provided over 6.5 million meals in part through donated food nearing expiration dates. Another is our partnership with UC Davis, which utilizes the un-donatable food waste Raley’s produces in our operation to produce renewable natural gas and fertilizer. We have also partnered with Date Check Pro to improve our sell through, resulting in significant food waste reduction by effectively identifying food acceptable for donation.
Second Servings
Second Servings is Houston’s only prepared and perishable food rescue organization. They rescue unsold and unserved food from more than 400 food businesses and deliver it the same day in refrigerated trucks to 140 local nonprofits. Their food helps nourish over 200,000 Houstonians in need annually.
Shelf Engine
Shelf Engine's mission is to reduce food waste through automation. They harness the power of artificial intelligence to forecast consumer demand for highly perishable products and automate ordering for food retailers. They dramatically reduce the amount of food waste, which drives profit for retailers, lowers costs for consumers, and reduces the negative ecological and social impacts of waste.
Solana Center for Environmental Innovation
Solana Center for Environmental Innovation helps individuals, businesses, and municipalities implement practical solutions for food waste diversion, surplus edible food donation, and environmental sustainability improvements. We provide education, outreach, and consulting services throughout the food chain – from food waste prevention to composting expertise. Solana Center has a successful history driving regional efforts, resulting in changes to behaviors and municipal code that promote sustainable and adoptable surplus food management practices.
Misfits Market
Misfits Market is an online value grocer dedicated to making affordable, high-quality food more accessible while helping break the cycle of food waste. They work directly with farmers and food producers to source organic produce, high-quality meats and seafood, sustainable pantry staples, and other groceries that might otherwise go to waste and deliver them to customers at up to 40% off grocery store prices.
The Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh
The Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh invests in organizations across the globe to advance long-term structural solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges. Food waste sits at the intersection of several of these challenges, and the foundation has been increasingly supporting solutions in food waste since 2017 – including providing critical support to ReFED for its work since that time.
Trendi
Trendi is a Canadian robotics agri-tech company dedicated to stopping food waste at the source and feeding more people. Trendi’s model starts with technology to rescue the massive amounts of misfit and excess food from farms and upcycle it into shelf-stable ingredients for food manufacturing.
Upcycled Foods Inc.
Upcycled Foods Inc. (dba ReGrained) powers the B2B upcycled food economy with product development expertise, cutting-edge technology, and a growing portfolio of ingredient solutions. With its innovation hub – the Upcycled Food Lab – the company leads the way for food makers as the go-to development and commercialization partners.
Winnow
Winnow develops artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help large hospitality businesses like hotels, contract caterers, casinos, and cruise ships run more profitable and sustainable kitchens by cutting food waste in half. Through advanced technology and analytics, we help enterprises obtain peak operational efficiency, mitigate the impact of rising food costs, and tell a great sustainability story. In 2018, Winnow also became a certified B Corporation.
ReFED is a national nonprofit working to end food loss and waste across the food system by advancing data-driven solutions to the problem.