ReFED has recently updated and relaunched its Food Waste Policy Finder – an online tool that provides a database of legislative and regulatory policy at the federal, state, and local levels pertaining to food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling. ReFED is a nonprofit collaboration formed in 2015 of over 40 business, nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders committed to reducing food waste in the U.S.
The database – which ReFED created in partnership with the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) – provides regular updates of policies, information about best practices in supporting food waste reduction goals, and case studies. It provides an overview of positive trends in the implementation of policies reducing food waste, while highlighting opportunities for common-sense policy improvements – such as food donation liability protections. The updated site now features a special rating system that shows the positive and negative effects of different policies across the country. This new rating tool is designed to encourage policymakers and stakeholders to compare their state to others and consider how they can improve their own policies.
“Policy is a critical lever for accelerating the adoption of food waste reduction solutions at a large scale, and it’s unique in its power to provide a spark that can move the food system to action,” said Samantha Goerger, ReFED Policy Fellow. “We hope people and businesses use the Policy Finder to understand current policies and to advocate for better ones. Reducing food waste is a win-win-win for the environment, for people, and for the economy.”