Natural Resources Defense Council announces Food Matters Regional Initiative

The Natural Resources Defense Council announced a new initiative targeted at paring with US cities to develop and implement food waste programs and policies.

Starting with the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, the Food Matters Regional Initiative aims to further larger-scale change related to food waste at a regional level. From a pool of regional applicant cities, five cities were selected to participate in each regional initiative, including previous partner cities as “hub cities” in each region.

The cities participating in each regional cohort are:

Mid-Atlantic	Southeast
Baltimore, MD (hub)	Nashville, TN (hub)
Jersey City, NJ	Asheville, NC
Philadelphia, PA	Atlanta, GA
Pittsburgh, PA	Memphis, TN
Washington, DC	Orlando, FL

Cities often confront similar barriers when tackling food waste, including insufficient data and resources. These cohorts will include city representatives who will network with one another, with NRDC, and with local partner organizations to set goals, develop workplans, and identify regional strategies that help maximize their resources. NRDC will work with each city to estimate their baseline food waste generation and rescue potential and to provide technical assistance on developing food waste strategies that help bolster their broader food systems, sustainability, and climate goals. The initiative will include convening and networking opportunities for participating cities to support and learn from each other and share successful strategies for on-the-ground project implementation.

More information can be found on NRDC’s website and blog posts