EPA Recognizes Sodexo for Diverting Food Waste from Landfills

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Recognizes Sodexo for Diverting Food Waste from Landfills PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 27, 2022) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it is recognizing Sodexo Inc. of Gaithersburg, Maryland, as an awardee in the Regional Endorser category of its Food Recovery Challenge (FRC). Endorsers are organizations that work with and educate others to reduce their generation of wasted food and may also recruit other organizations and businesses as Food Recovery Challenge participants. Sodexo has prioritized food loss and waste reduction efforts as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy for over 10 years. Ending hunger has been Sodexo’s philanthropic purpose since 1999, and the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation has provided more than $35 million in grants to eradicate hunger in America. During 2020, Sodexo continued to focus on deploying technology that helped reduce food loss and waste at the source and increase participation in the Food Recovery Challenge. Sodexo also jumped into action with its key partners to save food and feed those in need as operations were disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “If we have learned anything over the past 18 months, it should be that no one organization can accomplish mitigating food waste and ensuring surplus food gets to where it is needed most by itself, said Roxanne Moore, Executive Director, Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation. “We need to think creatively across the entire supply chain and leverage the expertise and resources of both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. We must work together to save people and the planet.” Key results included:   FRC participation increases   A total of 340 Sodexo sites participating in FRC with a 68 percent increase; or 232 new sites in 2020.   Source reduction    Prevented 1.95 million pounds of food waste.   Saved the equivalent of 1.63 million meals.   Helped avoid 6,191 metric tons of CO2.   Food recovery through Stop Hunger   Over 200,000 meals recovered through volunteers and Sodexo’s partnership with Move for Hunger.   Over 860 volunteer hours logged by students through Sodexo’s partnership with the Food Recovery Network  “EPA congratulates Sodexo and all of the Food Recovery Challenge partners for their notable achievements and innovative approaches to reduce food waste in their operations,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz.  “By addressing food waste, there is an opportunity to lower our carbon footprint and increase climate resilience, while also addressing inequities in food security and public health.” Through the FRC, EPA has worked with organizations and businesses for the past decade to set data-driven goals, implement targeted strategies to reduce wasted food in their operations, and report results. During 2019 and 2020, FRC national awardees implemented innovative approaches and engaged in practical, cost-effective best practices to prevent and reduce wasted food. Best practices included waste audits and an innovation included custom pallet building to maintain flexibility for those picking up recovered food. Many FRC national awardees provided much-needed food during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 600 businesses, governments and organizations actively participated in EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge in 2020-2021. Since the launch of the program in 2011, FRC partners prevented and diverted over 5.5 million tons of wasted food from entering landfills or incinerators. In the most recent reporting cycle, FRC partners prevented or diverted about 1.2 million tons of food from entering landfills or incinerators, saving partners up to $61.5 million in  landfill tipping fees.  For more information https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-challenge-results-and-awardees