SALINAS, CA - From farm all the way to fork, the Monterey County Sustainability Working Group (MCSWG) is set on its mission to help reduce the amount of food and resources that get wasted. In its upcoming meeting this Thursday, May 26, MCSWG will host Author and Staff Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Dana Gunders, who will speak on her work on reducing food waste and how it can be applied to the produce industry.

“I see the increased attention to food waste as an opportunity for the specialty crop sector, in particular,” Dana tells me when I ask her about why this is an important topic for the produce industry to address. “There's a huge amount of interest in capturing produce that is currently going to waste and getting it to people, whether that means new tax credits for farmers donating food, or new markets for off grade products.” 

From 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM this Thursday, Dana will join representatives from Dole, California Giant Berry Farm, and Growers Express, as well as GSA’s President, President of Monterey County Food Bank, and county officials. Due to high demand, the meeting has been moved from a smaller venue to Giorgio’s at 201 Main Street, in Salinas, CA.

According to a press release, Dana leads NRDC’s work on reducing food waste and has authored the widely distributed report, “Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40% of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill”. She also co-authored a report called, “The Dating Game,” which focuses on how unclear food dates can lead to increase food waste in the United States. Dana’s book, "Waste Free Kitchen Handbook," was released in September 2015, and she sits on the steering committee for ReFed, a collaboration of over 30 business, nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders committed to reducing United States food waste in the United States.

Her work on food waste has been featured on the following news sources, among many more: 

• CNN
• NBC
• The New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• NPR 

The meeting’s full agenda includes: 

11:30 AM to 12:00 PM

• Welcome and Introductions (Names, Position, Company)
• Sign In, Lunch, Networking Opportunity

12:00 PM to 1:30 PM  

• Food Waste Presentation /Group Conversation
• Overview of ReFED
• Review of 2012 NRDC Study "Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill"
• Food Loss On Farm/Processing Metrics
• Why it is important to start addressing this issue and working TOGETHER as an industry to find solutions and help combat food waste.

To attend, please RSVP to either Nikki Rodoni at [email protected], or Kris Gavin at [email protected].