How Food Banks Reduce Food Waste

April is Earth Month! As we celebrate our beautiful planet, we want to highlight one of the biggest environmental problems in the United States – food waste. At the Islamic Food Bank, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce food waste and food loss and redirect quality food to those who need it most.

What is food waste?
Food waste refers to food that is intended for human consumption but is wasted or lost instead. It can occur at any point across the food system, such as in farming, harvesting, transportation, storage, restaurants, and households.

What is the impact of food waste in the U.S.?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has estimated that 30% to 40% of the total food supply is wasted every year. Whether this waste stems from damaged goods, overproduction, or spoilage, food waste across the nation is a huge problem.
Food waste has far-reaching repercussions for the planet. All of the energy and resources used to produce and transport that food also go to waste. Wasting food depletes resources like land, electricity, water, and energy that could be used elsewhere. Plus, when the food begins to rot in landfills, it gives off methane gas, a pollutant. In fact, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food is the single largest category of material that ends up in municipal landfills.
Wasted food also has negative implications for people. Although the U.S. produces enough food to feed everyone, 44 million people in the United States remain food insecure per a USDA report released in October 2023. Because of food waste and holes in the food supply system, nutritious, quality food ends up in landfills.

How do food banks help reduce food waste?
Many food banks throughout the country participate in food rescue programs. Food that would otherwise go to landfills is redirected to food banks or food pantries to assist people in need. These food rescue programs are partnerships between grocery retailers, restaurants, and other businesses and food banks and non-profit organizations.
The Panera Day-End Dough-Nation Program is one example of a food rescue effort. IFB has been a participant in the Day-End Dough-Nation Program for six years. On Friday nights and Sunday nights, IFB volunteers pick up unsold bread and bakery items and drop off the next morning to community partners like Family House, Sunshine Communities, the Islamic Food Bank Pantry at Weiler Homes, and St. Paul’s Community Center. Rather than ending up in landfills, these “doughnations” are instead redirected toward people in need. In 2024, our volunteers helped us rescue approximately $60,000 worth of food from Panera.
The largest food rescue organization in the country is Feeding America, a network of food banks that receive and process large donations from grocery stores and food manufacturers. Member food banks work with community organizations to distribute these donations to local food pantries.

IFB is proud to work with the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, part of  Feeding America, to receive high-quality, difficult-to-source food items to stock at the Islamic Food Bank Pantry at the Perrysburg Heights Community Association. Thanks in part to this partnership, the IFB Pantry at PHCA is regularly stocked with both staple grocery essentials and other items like spices, sauces, and condiments for families to make and enjoy tasty meals.