At Sifted, we pride ourselves on being a company committed to protecting the health and wellness of the environment and communities we serve. We are the first catering company to launch a national, portfolio wide food donation program that feeds thousands of people in need through our partnership with Copia. With Copia’s help, we are able to safely and easily deliver 100% of our uneaten food to nearby nonprofits who need it. Not only does this meet the needs of underserved communities, but this also benefits the environment by eliminating food waste!
What is Food Waste?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, an estimated 1/3 of all food produced globally goes to waste. Food waste specifically refers to perfectly good food that is thrown away. Some examples of food waste are
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Fresh fruits and vegetable that aren’t “perfect” in terms of shape, size, and/or color are often removed by the supplier during sorting
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Foods that are around their “best-before” date are often thrown away by consumers and retailers
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Large amounts of good, edible food are often leftover and thrown away from restaurants and household kitchens
Sifted avoids these problems by locally sourcing as much food as we can, composting in every kitchen, and partnering with Copia to make sure that all of our leftovers get donated and eaten.
Why is Eliminating Food Waste so Important?
The UNFAO reports that eliminating food waste would lead to more efficient land use and better water resource management which have incredibly positive impacts on climate change. The carbon footprint of food waste is around 7% of all global emissions and more than 20% of greenhouse gas emissions are produced by activities related to food waste (according to the Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Research).
And the impacts of food waste aren’t just environmental. World Hunger is on the rise. In America, 42 million people face food insecurity every day. According to the National Resource Defense Council, if we were able to save just 15% of the food wasted every year, we’d have enough to feed 25 million Americans. This is why it’s so important to us at Sifted to make eliminating food waste a priority for our company. Sifted’s goal is to make sure none of our food goes to waste. Through our partnership with Copia, Sifted will be able to contribute not just to eliminating food waste, but also to providing food to those in our communities that need it.