Food Recovery Challenge

What is the Food Recovery Challenge?

The Food Recovery Challenge asks participants to reduce as much of their food waste as possible – saving money, helping communities, and protecting the environment. The Challenge is part of the EPA's Sustainable Materials Management Program, which seeks to reduce the environmental impact of materials through their entire life cycle, including how they are extracted, manufactured, distributed, used, reused, recycled, and disposed.

Any business or organization can join the Food Recovery Challenge as a participant or endorser. The Challenge provides resource that enable organizations to purchase leaner and to divert surplus food away from landfills for better uses through prevention, donation, and recycling.

Spoiler Alert endorses the Food Recovery Challenge

Endorsers are organizations that do not generate wasted food, but can provide resources to others to reduce their generation of wasted food. Endorsers may include local and state government agencies, religious organizations, trade associations, businesses, waste management facilities, and nonprofit organizations.

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Food Recovery Hierarchy

The Food Recovery Hierarchy is a great resource for understanding how organizations can identify landfill alternatives for wasted food. Spoiler Alert aims to bring together resources and players that support these diversion efforts:

• Source Reduction
• Feed Hungry People
• Feed Animals
• Industrial Uses
• Composting

Helpful Resources

• EPA Food Donations
• USDA Food Donations
• Recyclingworks Massachusetts Food Donations
• EPA Food Waste Assessment Tools

(Note: content adapted from EPA resources)

Want to join the Food Recovery Challenge?

For more information on New England participation, contact Janet Bowen at bowen.janet@epa.gov or 617-918-1795.

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