ReFED, the only U.S. nonprofit wholly dedicated to reducing food waste, announced the annual ReFED Food Waste Summit taking place October 28-30, 2019 at METREON in San Francisco.
The 2019 Food Waste Summit will gather influential thought leaders and decision-makers from across sectors to share and discuss concrete strategies to achieve the national goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030, and the opportunities to generate profits, increase food security, spur economic growth and protect the environment. More than 400 stakeholders from across sectors are expected to attend the event, hosted in partnership with The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation, and supported by other leading food waste champions, including General Mills and Morton Salt.
“ReFED has been at the forefront of raising food waste awareness and urging businesses and others to commit to real solutions, but the time to accomplish our nation’s goal to cut food waste in half by 2030 is running out,” said Chris Cochran, Executive Director of ReFED. “We’re excited to gather some of the top leaders working on the front lines of creating more sustainable food systems to address this challenge for the sake of our economy, our people and the planet.”
The three-day summit will open with an Innovator Excellence Day on October 28, offering attendees the opportunity to meet with some of the fastest-growing innovators in the food waste sector and learn more about new solutions for fighting food waste, potential pilots and funding opportunities. Featured sessions will include a showcase of the 10 impact-driven innovators in ReFED’s Nonprofit Food Recovery Accelerator and an interactive $50,000 pitch competition for the seven innovators selected to participate in The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation’s Innovation Fund.
“Kroger’s bold social impact plan, Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, sets out to end hunger in our communities and eliminate waste across our company by 2025. To achieve this goal, we’ve supported the development of The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation – a public charity established to work with social enterprises, corporations and non-profits like ReFED that are committed to creating communities free of hunger and waste,” said Jessica Adelman, president of The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation. “We look forward to joining ReFED’s third annual Food Waste Summit to collaborate with other like-minded organizations and individuals to identify innovative ways to disrupt the U.S. food system and achieve our vision of a world with Zero Hunger | Zero Waste.”
The summit will feature keynote presentations and panel discussions from a variety of food waste experts and influencers, including Jessica Adelman, President of The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation and Group Vice President of Corporate Affairs at The Kroger Co. who will share examples of success for driving food waste reductions; Walter Robb, former Co-CEO of Whole Foods; Summit emcee Joel Gamoran, chef and host of A&E hit series “Scraps;” Mary Jane Melendez, VP, Chief Sustainability & Social Impact Officer of General Mills; James Rogers, Founder & CEO of Apeel Sciences; Kathleen Salyer, Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Agency; Margaret Skrmetti, Community Engagement Manager at Morton Salt, among others.
“When less food is wasted, everybody wins. That’s why General Mills is focused on enabling the systematic recovery and redistribution of good surplus food around the globe, and why we work to prevent food from being wasted in the first place,” said Nicola Dixon, Executive Director of the General Mills Foundation. “The Food Waste Summit plays a critical role by elevating key insights and creating the connections needed to develop viable solutions to end food waste.”
“At Morton Salt, we believe food should be treasured not trashed, which is why we’re thrilled to continue partnering with ReFED on the 2019 Food Waste Summit to help meet our shared goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030,” added Margaret Skrmetti, Community Engagement Manager at Morton Salt. “We’re proud to be moving the needle on that goal by equipping consumers with tips, cooking demos, recipes, and more as part of Morton’s Erase Food Waste Initiative.”
For additional details about the 2019 Food Waste Summit, including speakers and the full agenda, visit https://summit.refed.com/.
