Fighting Food Waste, One Can at a Time

Every June, as the growing season accelerates and pantry stocks fluctuate with summer demands, we’re reminded of a persistent paradox in the U.S. food system: massive food waste alongside persistent food insecurity. While over 119 billion pounds of edible food are discarded annually, millions of Americans lack consistent access to nutritious meals.

Food recovery is gaining momentum as a strategy rooted in equity, climate responsibility, and systems thinking. Food recovery encompasses a spectrum of interventions: gleaning unharvested crops, rescuing surplus groceries, leftovers from restaurants, redistributing prepared meals, and designing community-led infrastructure to reclaim edible food at scale.

While community fridges and local nonprofits are essential to food rescue, a growing number of mission-driven companies are stepping up with creative, scalable solutions to keep good food out of landfills. Here are a few doing inspiring work:

Too Good To Go

Too Good To Go connects consumers with restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores that have surplus food at the end of the day. Users buy a “surprise bag” through the app at a steep discount. It’s an easy, fun way to rescue meals that would otherwise be trashed.

Impact: Over 100 million meals saved globally💡 Cool factor: Turns food rescue into a daily habit for individuals

Food Rescue Hero

Food Rescue Hero partners with hunger relief organizations to build tech-powered volunteer networks that transport surplus food from businesses to nonprofits in real-time. Their app is like Uber—but for food rescue volunteers.

Impact: Over 100,000 food rescues completed. Also kinda cool that it's local and cares about rapid response logistics

Flashfood

Flashfood works with grocery stores to sell soon-to-expire items—like produce, meat, and dairy—at steep discounts. Shoppers use the app to browse, pay, and pick up at participating stores.

Impact: Millions of pounds of food saved. Win-win for shoppers and grocers

Replate

HQ: California Replate offers businesses a tech-enabled food donation service. Companies with excess catered meals, cafeteria food, or event leftovers can schedule pickups that go directly to local nonprofits.

Impact: Over 3 million meals delivered. Data dashboards show donors their environmental and social impact

Imperfect Foods (now part of Misfits Market)

Misfits Market started by selling “ugly” produce—items that don’t meet grocery store cosmetic standards. Today, they rescue excess or off-spec food from suppliers and deliver it to subscribers nationwide.

Impact: Hundreds of millions of pounds of food saved. And it's shifting perceptions of what “good food” looks like

What Can You Do?

• Volunteer at a local food pantry or fridge.

• Ask your school, church, or office to organize a canned goods or produce donation drive.

• Advocate for composting and donation over trashing unsold food.

• Cook with what you have—reduce your own waste at home!

RECIPES USING COMMONLY DONATED PANTRY ITEMS:

Pantries often receive staples like canned beans, pasta, rice, oats, peanut butter, and shelf-stable vegetables. Here are two easy, nutritious recipes using those items:

1. One-Pot Southwest Rice and Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

• 1 cup rice

• 1 can corn (drained)

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 cups water or broth

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, combine all ingredients.

2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 18–20 minutes, until rice is tender.

3. Fluff with a fork and serve with hot sauce, avocado, or cheese if available.

   
   
   
   

2. No-Bake Oat and Peanut Butter Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats

• 1/2 cup peanut butter

• 1/4 cup honey or syrup

• 1/4 cup raisins or chocolate chips

• Pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Mix everything in a bowl until well combined.

2. Roll into small balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.