The EPA recognizes notable achievements and innovations of 18 businesses and organizations that participated in EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge (FRC) in 2020 and 2021. During this period, FRC partners prevented about 1.2 million tons of food from entering landfills or incinerators, saving $61.5 million in avoided landfill costs and reducing the amount of wasted food contributing to landfill emissions associated with climate change.
“The EPA Food Recovery Challenge Award winners demonstrate how preventing food waste and diverting excess wholesome food away from landfills and to people is important for the environment and for communities,”said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Their accomplishments serve as excellent examples to other companies, governments, organizations and communities, particularly because food is the single largest category of waste. We have an obligation to follow the lead of our award winners, not only for the sake of 35 million food-insecure Americans, but also to prevent emissions that contribute to climate change.”
Many environmental inputs go into getting food from farms to our plates, and when food doesn’t get sold or eaten along the way, people are throwing away valuable resources and missing opportunities to feed others. Through the FRC, EPA has worked with organizations and businesses for the past decade to set data-driven goals, implement targeted strategies to reduce wasted food in their operations, and report results to compete for recognition. During 2019 and 2020, FRC national awardees implemented innovative approaches and engaged in practical, cost-effective actions and best practices to prevent and reduce wasted food. Best practices and innovations included school waste audits and custom pallet building to maintain flexibility for those picking up recovered food. Many national awardees provided much-needed food during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nearly 600 businesses, governments and organizations actively participated in the FRC in 2020-2021. Since the launch of the program in 2011, FRC partners prevented and diverted over 5.5 million tons of wasted food from entering landfills. In the most recent reporting cycle, FRC partners prevented or diverted about 1.2 million tons of food from entering landfills or incinerators, saving up to $61.5 million in avoided landfill costs. Data-driven award recipients achieved the highest percentage increases in food waste diversion in their sectors comparing year-to-year data. Narrative award winners achieved notable progress in the areas of source reduction, leadership, innovation, education and outreach, and endorsement of sustainable management of food.
Two awardees, Sodexo and Sprouts Farmers Market, are also U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions, a group of businesses and organizations that have publicly committed to reduce food loss and waste by 50 percent in their own operations by the year 2030.
The 2020-2021 FRC national award winners are:
2020 Data-Driven Awardees by Sector
- Colleges/Universities – The Culinary Institute of America (San Antonio)
- State/Tribal/Local Government – City of Philadelphia – Department of Prisons (Philadelphia)
- Grocers – Sprouts Farmers Market: 1 (Maricopa, Ariz.)
- K-12 Schools – Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School – Island Grown Schools (Oak Bluffs, Mass.)
- Medical Systems – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, Mass.)
- Newcomer – Wilton Public Schools (Wilton, Conn.)
- Restaurants and Food Service Providers – Chipotle of Lawrence (Lawrence, N.Y.
2020 Narrative Awardees
- Education & Outreach – Los Angeles County Public Works – Environmental Programs Division (Alhambra, Calif.)
- Endorser – Food Rescue Partnership (Davenport, Iowa)
- Leadership – Food Forward (North Hollywood, Calif.)
2021 Data-Driven Awardees by Sector
- Food Manufacturers – Moonflower Farms (Houston, Texas)
- Grocers – Sprouts Farmers Market: 176 (Overland Park, Kan.)
- Medical Systems – Sodexo – GSMC Nutrition Svc (Lafayette, Colo.)
- Restaurants and Food Service Providers – HelloFresh (New York, N.Y.
2021 Narrative Awardees
- Education & Outreach – Orange Coast College Recovery Kitchen (Costa Mesa, Calif.)
- Education and Outreach (Honorable Mention) – Lovin’ Spoonfuls (Boston, Mass.)
- Endorser – Cherripick Inc., (Orlando, Fla.)
- Innovation – Food Forward (North Hollywood, Calif.)
- Leadership – The University of Texas at Arlington (Arlington, Texas)
- Leadership (Honorable Mention) – Lovin’ Spoonfuls (Boston, Mass.)