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Sustainable Management of Food

  • Climate and Environmental Impacts of U.S Food Waste

    Check out EPA’s report: 

    • From Farm to Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste 
  • Anaerobic Digestion

    • EPA selected 11 recipients for funding in the Supporting Anaerobic Digestion in Communities Funding Opportunity.
    • EPA is currently analyzing data for our fourth phase of the Anaerobic Digestion Data Collection Project
  • Federal Interagency Food Loss and Waste Collaboration

    The U.S. EPA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration affirm their shared commitment to work towards the national goal of reducing food loss and waste by 50 percent by 2030.


Understanding the Issues

Sustainable Management of Food Basics
  • Basic Information
  • Food Recovery Hierarchy
  • U.S. 2030 Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal
  • Food Waste Research 
  • 2018 Wasted Food Report
  • Funding Opportunities and EPA Programs Related to the Food System
  • Federal Interagency Collaboration

What Businesses and Organizations
Can Do

close up of volunteer-hands as they sort food donations as mason jars and canned food
  • Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions
  • Tools for Preventing and Diverting
    Wasted Food
  • Success Stories in Reducing Waste

What Individuals and Communities Can Do

Overhead photo of compost in a white bucket.
  • How to Prevent Wasted Food at Home  
  • Food: Too Good to Waste Toolkit and Guide 
  • Donate Food
  • Compost Food Scraps

To learn more about the tiers of the hierarchy, click on the topic.

Food Recovery Hierarchy Triangle in Six Steps. Top (most preferred) to bottom (least preferred): Source Reduction, Feed Hungry People, Feed Animals, Industrial Uses, Composting, and Landfill/Incineration.

Source ReductionFeed Hungry PeopleFeed AnimalsIndustrial UsesComposting

Listen to EPA Administrator Michael Regan speak about reducing food loss and waste.

Local and Regional Resources

Find out about regional wasted food prevention and diversion opportunities, initiatives and resources.

Sign up for our e-Newsletter

Our "In the Loop with EPA: Circular Economy Updates" e-newsletter shares announcements and funding opportunities from EPA and our partners on the topics of food waste, recycling, municipal solid waste, and the built environment.

Tweets by @EPAland
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on March 10, 2023
United States Environmental Protection Agency

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