The nonprofit ReFED recently launched a new waste reduction plan, along with a suite of solutions and digital tools, that may help the food industry make a bigger impact on reducing waste.

ReFED’s new analysis shows the amount of food going to waste in the United States is no longer increasing each year but has leveled off since 2016. And while food waste most likely surged at the beginning of 2020 as COVID-19 threw supply chains into disarray, the pandemic has also presented new opportunities to lessen waste in the home—the largest source of food waste in the country. These findings were published in ReFED’s Roadmap to 2030: Reducing U.S. Food Waste by 50%, which the organization released alongside its Insights Engine, a set of five tools to guide policymakers and players in the food industry.

The Roadmap builds on ReFED’s 2016 plan to reduce food waste in the U.S. by 20 percent.

“We’ve been excited by the progress we’ve seen since the launch of the original Roadmap,” ReFED Executive Director Dana Gunders tells Food Tank. Despite the encouraging data, Gunders says “much more needs to be done” for the U.S. to reach its goal of a 50 percent reduction in food waste by 2030, which prompted the development of the updated roadmap and Insights Engine.

The Roadmap to 2030 presents more than 40 food waste solutions, modeled for impact and cost-benefit, up from 27 in the initial report.

Read the full article about food waste solutions by Elizabeth Eaton at Food Tank.