ORGANIZATION:

Waste and Resources Action Programme

PROJECT OR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has been active in food loss and waste reduction for more than 10 years and has published numerous reports on the volumes, composition, and drivers of food loss and waste, as well as actively worked with businesses, citizens, and governments. The results of all these activities have been published.

Most recently, WRAP launched the United Kingdom Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, which commits United Kingdom businesses to set a food waste reduction target, to measure food waste in a consistent way, and to take action by reducing not only their own food waste but also that of their suppliers and customers. The roadmap also includes a commitment to publicly report individual company results on food waste reduction or their work toward this as best practice. WRAP has also launched a new reporting tool, the Food Waste Atlas (in partnership with the World Resources Institute), which is the world's first freely accessible online tool to bring global food loss and waste data together in one place.

In Mexico, WRAP is helping the government develop a national strategy for food loss and waste and identifying hotspots along supply chains, working with the World Bank. WRAP is hoping to help more countries develop their food loss and waste strategies in the next few years. In North America, WRAP is involved with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and its tri-national expert group, which supports advance measurement of food loss and waste across the continent.

PERFORMERS/OTHER PARTNERS (FEDERAL, STATES, LOCAL, OR PRIVATE):

WRAP is continually working with United Kingdom food, drink, and hospitality businesses as well as the citizens and local authorities.

AGENCY/ORGANIZATION:

U.S. Agency for International Development/Purdue University

PROJECT OR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The overall goal of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Processing and Post-harvest Handling is to develop sustainable, market-driven value chains that reduce food losses, improve food and nutrition security, and contribute to economic growth for farmers in Kenya, Senegal, and other Feed the Future countries.

The Innovation Lab for Food Processing and Post-harvest Handling contributes to the Feed the Future's goal of increasing access to safe and nutritious foods by improving the drying and storage capacity of smallholder farmers and expanding market opportunities through diversified processed products that address quality in the market and nutritional needs. Purdue University works with various partners including North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University in the United States; University of Pretoria in South Africa; Institut de Technologie Alimentaire (ITA) and L'Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA) in Senegal; Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and University of Eldoret in Kenya; and A to Z Textiles in Tanzania. The project focuses on cereals and grain legume value chains. Locally grown nutrient-rich plants and biofortified cereals are also targeted for enhancing nutritional quality of products. The project has two research components: (1) grain drying and storage involving the development and dissemination of affordable and efficient drying and storage technologies for use by smallholder farmer, and (2) food processing and nutrition involving the development of high-quality, market-competitive food products, including products with improved nutrition, and their dissemination through incubation training centers. The Innovation Lab for Food Processing and Post-harvest Handling is also working to build local human and institutional capacity, as well as to build public and private partnerships to enhance technology adoption in the focus countries. Gender and environment are being taken into account at all stages of the project cycle.

KEY RESULTS, OUTCOMES, OR IMPACTS TO DATE:

Under the drying and storage component of the project, the key accomplishments include:

1.

Development, testing, and dissemination of a low-cost moisture measurement protocol using the hygrometer that is conventionally used to measure relative humidity in the air and costs approximately USD 2.00 per unit;

2.

Development of two low-cost solar dryers that are currently being tested on-farm in the focus countries;

3.

Identification of cost-effective aflatoxin-reducing innovations packages that consist of combinations of training on best postharvest handling practices, use of low-cost grain-moisture verification tools, tarps to eliminate drying on the ground, and hermetic storage bags; and

4.

Training of more than 7,000 farmers and traders on best practices for post-harvest drying and storage in Senegal and Kenya.

Under the processing and nutrition component, key accomplishments include:

1.

Introduction of novel food processing technologies including the extrusion technology (a precooking process used to produce instant or ready-to-eat flour-based products);

2.

Developing high-quality, market-competitive, and conventional and nutritious food products that meet consumer demands; and

3.

The introduction of the “Hub and Spoke” Incubation/Innovation Center system to disseminate food and nutrition technologies and to strengthen local food processing enterprises.

PERFORMERS/OTHER PARTNERS (FEDERAL, STATES, LOCAL, OR PRIVATE):

The work is done in collaboration with various other public and private partners, in addition to the original ones, as listed below:

• Bell Industries, a local company in Kenya, to test market the sale of hygrometers in the East Africa region.
• Global Good, which has signed an agreement to develop and evaluate protocols that use inexpensive new generation humidity/temperature devices (hygrometer 2.0) to measure grain moisture.
• The Compagnie de Filature et de Sacherie (COFISAC), a local manufacturer of hermetic storage bags to manufacture and supply smallholder farmers in Senegal.
• The Sahélienne d'Entreprises de Distribution en Agro Business (SEDAB), to train farmers on best post-harvest practices to reduce losses.
• JUA Technologies International LLC, a start-up company by one of the Innovation Lab for Food Processing and Post-harvest Handling principal investigators to commercialize solar dryers.
• Seven local county governments in Kenya, to test new drying technologies and promote storage technologies.
• Several public and private entities at the University of Eldoret in Kenya as follows:
  • Organi Ltd., Kisii County; Nyapalo Farmers' Cooperative, Homabay County; AWRICO Health Millers, Bungoma County, and grain farmers from Busia County, Uasin Gishu, and Elgeyo Marakwet Counties to supply ingredients for product development;
  • International Potato Center (CIP) in Nairobi, Kenya, to provide technical support on natural fortification; and
  • The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, to train entrepreneurs on sorghum and millet processing.
• Institut de Technologie Alimentaire (ITA), Senegal, to strengthen the partnership with Darou Salam Cereal Processing Unit, owned by Mme Mbacké, a key local partner in Touba.
• The World Food Programme, Government of Senegal, and U.S. Agency for International Development's Education and Research in Agriculture Program, to train processors in Senegal and build capacity to supply high-quality nutritious food products to World Food Programme and government health centers.
• The Feed the Future Senegal Kawolor Project (nutrition-led agriculture activity) led by the Cooperative League of the United States of America.
• The Rockefeller Foundation in partnership with University of Nairobi, Kenya, and the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, to scale-up the “Hub and Spoke” Incubation/Innovation Center system.

PROJECT PERIOD:

May 19, 2014 – May 18, 2019

AGENCY/ORGANIZATION:

Kansas State University is the implementing partner; funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development

PROJECT OR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss (PHLIL) is a strategic, applied, research and education program aimed at improving global food security by reducing post-harvest losses in stored product crops, such as grains, oilseeds, legumes, root crops, and seeds.

The lab's efforts are focused in four Feed the Future countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Guatemala, with additional projects in Honduras, Nepal, and Afghanistan. Through collaborations between U.S. universities and local universities, research institutions, and other partner organizations, PHLIL conducts research, testing, and outreach related to drying, storage, and mycotoxin detection for these key crops. Its work seeks to increase understanding of current post-harvest loss factors and task division in rural communities and households, and to develop technologies usable by all household members.

KEY RESULTS, OUTCOMES, OR IMPACTS TO DATE:

Commercialization of grain moisture meter through transfer to Ghanaian-owned, youth-led start-up.

• More than 200 of the PHLIL-developed GrainMate moisture testers have been built in Ghana to date, and these have been purchased by the Ghana Grains Council, American Soybean Association's Assisting Management in Poultry Layer Industry by Feed Improvement and Efficient Strategy (AMPLIFIES) project, the Enhanced Nutrition and Value Chains (ENVAC) project, and others.

Development of effective, locally built grain dryers in Ghana and Bangladesh.

• The BAU-STR dryer in Bangladesh has been tested for rice, wheat, and maize. It is being manufactured/assembled locally, and it will be included in the next round of a national agricultural machinery subsidy program.
• The solar biomass hybrid dryer was co-designed by Ghanaian and U.S. researchers. Working with other collaborators, PHLIL Ghana has installed solar biomass hybrid dryers at poultry producers, each sourcing maize from approximately 100 smallholder farmers; producers use a pay-it-forward model to finance the dryers.

Validation of safe storage methods to control insects and mycotoxins.

• Work between PHLIL Ghana and Vestergaard Frandsen validated a new product line—the ZeroFly hermetic bag, the first to protect grains from insect threats present before and after storage.
• Inert, safe, locally available pesticide alternatives validated by PHLIL Ethiopia for insect pests.

Development of graduate post-harvest curricula at national universities.

• Bangladesh (Bangladesh Agricultural University), Ethiopia (Bahir Dar University), and Nepal (Tribhuvan University) have already integrated postharvest material from PHLIL into their university curricula. Others are following suit.
• The new Bahir Dar University Postharvest Technology Program currently has 11 Ph.D. students, of which three are PHLIL-supported.

Establishment of mycotoxin assessment and mitigation protocol.

• In all seven project countries, PHLIL has established mycotoxin-testing laboratories and teams and conducted surveys. Focus is on establishing national capacity to extend research beyond the project and on identifying pragmatic intervention strategies, and not simply on characterizing the problem.

Addressing gender and nutrition roles in post-harvest activities.

• Using the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index as a foundation, surveys and focus group discussions on gendered roles in post-harvest activities were conducted in three countries with 867 stakeholders. Focus groups included women-only, men-only, and combined gender groups.
• Women's indigenous knowledge and innovations that help them reduce post-harvest losses have been identified and research directed to address post-harvest challenges specifically raised and faced by women.

PERFORMERS/OTHER PARTNERS (FEDERAL, STATES, LOCAL, OR PRIVATE): United States

• Advanced Manufacturing Institute
• Fort Valley State University
• GrainPro, Inc.
• Helica Biosystems, Inc.
• John Deere
• Kansas State University
• Michigan State University, Scientific Animations Without Borders
• Oklahoma State University
• Piestar
• Purdue University, Purdue Improved Crop Systems project
• Romer Labs
• South Carolina State University
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss
• University of Kentucky
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln
• U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research

Bangladesh

• ACI Motors, Ltd.
• Bangladesh Agricultural University
• Bhai Bhai Engineering
• Department of Agricultural Extension, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
• Jagorani Chakra Foundation
• Kamal Machine Tools
• Uttaron Engineering

Ethiopia

• Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research
• Bahir Dar University
• Hawassa University
• Mekelle University
• Hiwot Agricultural Mechanization P.L.C.
• Sesame Research Center at Humera

Ghana

• Adventist Development Relief Agency
• Agri Commercial Service Ltd.
• American Soybean Association World Initiative for Soy in Human Health, Assisting Management in Poultry Layer Industry by Feed Improvement and Efficient Strategy (AMPLIFIES) project
• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Crops Research Institute
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
• Ghana Grains Council
• Ministry of Food and Agriculture (northern and upper west regional offices)
• Pens Food Bank Enterprise

Guatemala

• Asociación de Organizaciones de Los Cuchumatanes (Asocuch) and International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT), Buena Milpa project
• Fundación para Desarrollo Integral de El Tejar (FUNDIT)
• SHARE Guatemala
• Universidad del Valle

Additional Partners

• Vestergaard Frandsen (Switzerland)
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (Germany; in Ghana, Ethiopia)
• Mars Global Food Safety Center (China)

PROJECT PERIOD:

January 2014 – December 2021

AGENCY/ORGANIZATION:

The Kroger Company

About Kroger

The Kroger Company is dedicated to its purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit™. Kroger includes nearly half a million associates who serve more than 9 million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names,³ serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHunger-ZeroWaste communities by 2025. Kroger also operates 36 food processing facilities that produce popular, high-quality private-label products and manages a network of 42 distribution centers across the United States.

PROJECT OR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan is the company's commitment to end hunger in its communities and eliminate waste across the company by 2025. There is a fundamental absurdity in the nation's food system: 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is thrown away, yet one in eight Americans experience hunger. The Kroger Company is committed to addressing this problem through its size, scale, and passionate employees.

Zero Hunger | Zero Waste was inspired by the company's purpose—to Feed the Human Spirit™—and is a key pillar of Restock Kroger, the company's 3-year plan to change the way America eats. Its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste plan has several key pillars, including: accelerating food rescue to donate 1 billion meals by 2020 and 3 billion meals by 2025; donating more balanced and nutritious meals to improve health; achieving zero waste company-wide by 2020 and zero food waste by 2025; applying data and insights from the company 84.51° to identify opportunities to improve food security; working with key partners; and introducing Kroger's new Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Innovation Fund to find and finance innovative solutions to reduce food waste.

KEY RESULTS, OUTCOMES, OR IMPACTS TO DATE:

Since introducing Zero Hunger | Zero Waste in 2017, the company has achieved these results:

• Increased food waste transparency. Worked with World Wildlife Fund to establish metrics and a baseline for food waste across its retail store operations, using the World Resources Institute Food Loss and Waste Standard. Key findings are shared in Kroger's 2018 sustainability report at http://sustainability.kroger.com/planet-food-waste.html.
• Developed data-driven insights to better understand the complex issue of food insecurity in communities. Partnered with 84.51° to initiate a design project to bring a family-centered focus to Kroger's search for solutions to end hunger.
• Created a strategic plan to launch Kroger's $10 Million Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Innovation Fund to fund scalable solutions to reduce food waste.
• Provided 325 million meals to families in need in Kroger communities in 2017. Improved the company's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Food Rescue program to donate not only more food, but also more balanced meals.
• Directed $181 million in charitable giving to end hunger. Aligned the Kroger Co. Foundation's philanthropic giving to our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste plan and added new opportunities for customers to support this social impact plan.
• Been the first major retailer to commit to phasing out single-use plastic grocery bags as part of its focus on achieving zero waste. Work is underway to transition to more sustainable options to better protect the planet.
• Educated customers on ways to reduce food waste at home. Shared tips for reducing household food waste through the Wilted to Wonderful blog series and other content.

As year two of Zero Hunger | Zero Waste begins, Kroger will launch pilot projects with the potential to increase food security and reduce food waste in high-impact areas of its stores, such as produce, seafood, and deli. Key initiatives will include accelerating Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Food Rescue Program, expanding the number of retail stores participating in food recycling, partnering with growers and suppliers to address food waste in the supply chain, and launching its $10 Million Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Innovation Fund.⁴

PERFORMERS/OTHER PARTNERS (FEDERAL, STATES, LOCAL, OR PRIVATE):

Kroger's corporate affairs and sustainability leaders are driving progress on Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, in close partnership with other business and functional leaders and organizations such as Feeding America, World Wildlife Fund, and ReFED. The company cannot do it alone and invites all to join it on its “moonshot” mission, including its associates, its customers, and the communities it serves.

PROJECT PERIOD:

2017 to 2025

AGENCY:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

PROJECT OR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Excess Food Opportunities Map⁵ supports nationwide diversion of excess food from landfills. The interactive map identifies and displays facility-specific information for more than 500,000 potential generators and more than 4,000 recipients of excess food in the industrial, commercial, and institutional sectors, and provides estimates of excess food by generator type. The map helps users learn about potential sources of excess food in their region and potential non-landfill recipients, such as composting and anaerobic digestion facilities. Users can also use this map to inform and identify:

• Management decisions around excess food at the local level.
• Potential sources of food for rescue and reuse.
• Potential feedstocks for compost, anaerobic digestion, or other excess-food recyclers.
• Potential infrastructure gaps for managing excess food.
• Alternatives to sending excess food to landfills.

KEY RESULTS, OUTCOMES, OR IMPACTS TO DATE:

The map was released publicly in June 2018 and has been used by local governments, consultants, and recipients of food such as anaerobic digestion facilities and food banks to determine where potential excess food can be found and used more beneficially. The EPA published the technical methodology describing all of the methods used to estimate potential amounts of excess food per establishment; this provides others seeking to estimate excess food by sector with information on how to do so. All data sets, which include excess food estimates by establishment, addresses, and contact information of generators and recipients, are available for download.

PERFORMERS/OTHER PARTNERS (FEDERAL, STATES, LOCAL, OR PRIVATE):

Data and methodologies were obtained from various sources, including Feeding America, BioCycle, and several states.

PROJECT PERIOD:

Ongoing—the map will be updated regularly.

AGENCY:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

PROJECT OR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

As part of the EPA's Food Recovery Challenge,⁶ organizations pledge to improve their sustainable food management practices and report their results. Food Recovery Challenge participants and endorsers include groups such as grocers, educational institutions, restaurants, religious organizations, sports and entertainment venues, and hospitality businesses. Participants and endorsers are recognized for their achievements by annual national and regional awards.

KEY RESULTS, OUTCOMES, OR IMPACTS TO DATE:

In 2016, more than 950 Food Recovery Challenge participants and endorsers prevented and diverted more than 740,000 tons of wasted food from entering landfills or incinerators. Of this amount, participants and endorsers:

• Prevented more than 18,000 tons of wasted food from being created through source reduction (prevention) activities,
• Donated approximately 310,000 tons of food,
• Anaerobically digested nearly 85,000 tons of food,
• Composted more than 281,000 tons of food, and
• Saved up to $37.4 million in avoided tipping fees from landfills.

PERFORMERS/OTHER PARTNERS (FEDERAL, STATES, LOCAL, OR PRIVATE):

Food Recovery Challenge participants and endorsers include businesses, organizations, local governments, and other institutions.

PROJECT PERIOD:

Ongoing.

AGENCY/ORGANIZATION:

ReGrained

PROJECT OR PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

ReGrained exists to inspire the world to better align the food we eat with the planet we love—improving the way we value food and the resources that support all life. We are here to enable global food systems to do more with less.

ReGrained has created an ingredient platform to promote an innovative model of food waste mitigation termed Edible Upcycling. Edible Upcycling is the realization of the circular economy for food, simultaneously reducing waste and feeding people. The company reimagines perceived ends as beginnings by rescuing nutritious overlooked ingredients and rendering them into delicious and healthy food.

The company's initial development focus is on upcycling the nutritious grain generated every time that beer is brewed. In the United States alone, billions of pounds of this latent supply chain are available every year. With more than two new breweries opening per day in the United States, there are dozens of breweries operating many cities. The below photo (Figure D-1) is the output from a single medium-sized brewery in a single day:

FIGURE D-1

Photo illustrates the output from a single medium-sized brewery in a single day. SOURCE: ReGrained.

So, is this waste? No. Brewing beer processes the sugar out of the grain, concentrating the plant protein, fiber, and micronutrients in what remains (Figure D-2).

FIGURE D-2

Brewing beer processes the sugar out of the grain, concentrating the remaining plant protein, fiber, and micronutrients. SOURCE: ReGrained.

ReGrained upcycles this grain into “SuperGrain+” flour using its patent-pending technology. It then incorporates this ingredient into its own consumer packaged goods products and into the supply chains of several global brands and food manufacturers. Eventually the company plans to license the technology globally and extend its application to other undervalued byproducts into viable ingredients to nourish the world.

KEY RESULTS, OUTCOMES OR IMPACTS TO DATE:

Several notable impacts of ReGrained's work include:

• Food waste: ReGrain rescues the food that is created every time beer is brewed and is pioneering a model for edible upcycling. If ReGrained did not exist, this grain would not be going to its highest use—feeding people. To date it has upcycled tens of thousands of pounds of grain. Its new facility will process thousands of pounds per day.
• Packaging waste: ReGrained's bars come in plant-based 100% compostable wrappers, leaving no waste at end-of-life.
• Certified B Corp: B Corp is a global nonprofit committed to the idea that businesses should compete not only to be the best in the world but also to be the best for the world. It awards its rigorous certification to companies that exemplify transparency, accountability, and social and environmental responsibility.
• 1 Percent For the Planet: One percent of ReGrained's sales are donated to environmental nonprofits.⁷

PERFORMERS/OTHER PARTNERS (FEDERAL, STATES, LOCAL, OR PRIVATE):

ReGrained has a number of partnerships under way, including:

1.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service: partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop patent-pending technology and for assistance with making the Edible Upcycling concept scalable.

2.

Griffith Foods: Global ingredient and product development partner.

3.

Barilla: Global consumer packaged goods partner.

PROJECT PERIOD:

Ongoing.