Maine Food Waste Solutions Summit planned for April 15
The second annual Maine Food Waste Solutions Summit will take place online on April 15, 2022, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The theme for this year’s event, organized by Food Rescue MAINE, is “Improving Maine’s Food System.”
The Maine Food Waste Solutions Summit brings together the state’s key food system participants—farms, food businesses, community leaders, and government and nonprofit organizations—to highlight progress and successes, and explore strategies for reducing food waste and ensuring that Mainers have the food they need.
Speakers will include national and state food waste experts and a panel of Maine food waste success stories. Student interns working with Food Rescue Maine will present a progress report on their efforts. Breakout sessions will focus on different ways to be part of the solution to food waste in Maine.
Food waste solutions are sorely needed. The United Nations and other sources estimate that between 30-40% of the food we produce is never eaten, yet one in eight Maine households experience food insecurity. Food is the single largest component of Maine’s solid waste stream, making up nearly a third of generated waste. Almost all of this wasted food (97%) ends up in landfills, where it can contribute to the leaching of contaminants and the production of methane gas, increasing water pollution and climate change impacts. And wasting food also squanders valuable resources used to produce it, including 21% of freshwater supplies in the U.S.
Food Rescue MAINE focuses on tackling food waste in Maine, building on previous work done by the Mitchell Center’s Materials Management research group and others. The project seeks “triple-bottom-line” solutions that have economic, social, and environmental benefits.
The summit will be hosted online and will be free and open to the public.
Please visit the summit webpage to learn more and register.
Contact Susanne Lee with any questions.