Refed Inc

REFED IS A NATIONAL NONPROFIT DEDICATED TO ENDING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE ACROSS THE U.S. FOOD SYSTEM BY ADVANCING DATA-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS. OUR VISION IS A SUSTAINABLE, RESILIENT, AND INCLUSIVE FOOD SYSTEM THAT OPTIMIZES ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES, MINIMIZES CLIMATE IMPACTS, AND MAKES THE BEST USE OF THE FOOD WE GROW.

CAPITAL, INNOVATION, & ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS : REFED INCREASED AWARENESS, EDUCATION, AND ENGAGEMENT OF CAPITAL PROVIDERS, SOLUTIONS PROVIDERS, AND FOOD BUSINESSES, LEADING TO AN INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR AND ADOPTION OF FOOD WASTE SOLUTIONS. THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH ONGOING MATCHMAKING AND MARKET MAKING ACTIVITIES AND THROUGH THE LAUNCH OF THE FOOD WASTE FUNDER CIRCLE, A NEW NETWORK FOR CAPITAL PROVIDERS TO NETWORK AND LEARN ABOUT INVESTMENT AND GRANTMAKING OPPORTUNITIES IN FOOD WASTE, SHARING NEARLY 100 SOLUTION PROVIDERS WITH THE FUNDER CIRCLE. REFED ALSO ADVISED THE WONDERFUL COMPANY'S POM $1 MILLION INNOVATION CHALLENGE TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS 50,000 POUNDS OF POMEGRANATE HUSK WASTE AND SERVED ON THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE KROGER CO. ZERO HUNGER | ZERO WASTE FOUNDATION'S 2021 OPEN CALL.

DATA & INSIGHTS PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS : REFED LAUNCHED THE INSIGHTS ENGINE, A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND ONLINE KNOWLEDGE HUB BUILT FROM 50 PUBLIC AND PROPRIETARY DATASETS AND OFFERING EXTENSIVE ANALYSES AND THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION TO INFORM THE WORK OF STAKEHOLDERS OF ALL TYPES. ACCOMPANYING THE INSIGHTS ENGINE WAS AN UPDATED VERSION OF OUR LANDMARK 2016 ROADMAP CALLED THE ROADMAP TO 2030: REDUCING U.S. FOOD WASTE BY 50%, WHICH DETAILS SEVEN KEY ACTION AREAS TO HELP GUIDE THE FOOD SYSTEM IN ITS WASTE REDUCTION EFFORTS. THE INSIGHTS ENGINE WELCOMED OVER 22,000 USERS AND WAS UTILIZED IN OVER 450 USE CASES BY A VARIETY OF FOOD SYSTEM STAKEHOLDERS.

BUSINESS INITIATIVES PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS : REFED PROVIDED TAILORED RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WOULD ELEVATE FOOD WASTE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES IN CERTIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS TO 10 NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONSFOR INSTANCE, WE ADVISED THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION (AASHE) ON ITS SUSTAINABILITY TRACKING, ASSESSMENT & RATING SYSTEM (STARS), WHICH IS A TRANSPARENT, SELF-REPORTING FRAMEWORK FOR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO MEASURE THEIR SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE. WE ALSO WORKED WITH THE COUNCIL FOR RESPONSIBLE SPORT, THE WORLD'S LEADING RESPONSIBLE SPORT CERTIFICATION PROGRAM, ON ITS RESPONSIBLE SPORT STANDARD FOR ORGANIZATIONS. REFED PARTNERED WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND, ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, TO DEVELOP THE CLIMATE CORPS FOOD WASTE FELLOWSHIP FOR LAUNCH IN 2022. IT IS A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND COLLABORATION DESIGNED TO ADVANCE COMPANIES' STRATEGIC FOOD WASTE INITIATIVES AND TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF FOOD WASTE AND CLIMATE LEADERS. WE ALSO CONTINUED TO SERVE AS A PARTNER TO THE PACIFIC COAST FOOD WASTE COMMITMENT WHICH WELCOMED ADDITIONAL FOOD BUSINESS SIGNATORIES, INCLUDING BOB'S RED MILL AND FOOD NORTHWEST, AS THE PROJECT EXPANDED TO INCLUDE BOTH RETAILERS AND MANUFACTURERS.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS : CONDUCTED INTERNAL STAFF TRAINING PROGRAMS TO EDUCATE EMPLOYEES ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND JUSTICE AND THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY INTERSECT WITH REFED'S WORK ON FOOD WASTE. REFED HIRED IT'S FIRST DEIJ FELLOW TO LEAD A YEAR-LONG WORKSTREAM TO CONDUCT A LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THESE INTERSECTIONS AND BEGIN WORK ON A PUBLIC REPORT. STAFF ALSO CONDUCTED THE FIRST HALF OF AN INTERNAL DEIJ ASSESSMENT TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR GREATER INTEGRATION OF DEIJ WORK INTO THE ORGANIZATION'S INTERNAL POLICIES AND PROCESSES AND EXTERNAL-FACING PROGRAMMING AND STRATEGIES.