Written by Karen Byrd, PhD, RDN, Research Administrator and Outreach Coordinator, Center for Food Conservation and Waste Reduction

Do you ever get frustrated with the amount of food that is thrown away? If so, we are with you! We are the  Center for Food Conservation and Waste Reduction (CFCWR), and we are celebrating our first anniversary of pursuing our mission to tackle household food waste head-on. Thanks to generous funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, we launched in 2024 with a clear goal: work alongside communities and people just like you to cut food waste by half by 2030 – a target shared by both the U.S. and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Target 12.3.

The Food Waste Reality Check

Here’s a staggering reality: In the U.S., 30 to 40% of food produced for humans to eat is never eaten. And here’s the kicker – the biggest source of waste isn’t restaurants or grocery stores – it’s our own kitchens with households wasting more food than any other part of the food supply chain. Ironically, most of us think we don’t waste very much food, but the numbers tell a different story.  Ready for some real talk? “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem…” And we all know the first step to addressing a problem is admitting we have one, right?

Think about it. Every time food ends up in the trash, we’re not just losing meals – we’re watching precious resources go to waste. The water that helped grow that forgotten lettuce, the energy used to transport those expired yogurt cups, the land dedicated to producing that moldy bread… But here’s the good news: by being food conservers, small changes in how each of us manages food at home can make a huge difference.

Food Conservation: Your Kitchen’s New Superpower

What exactly is a food conserver? Think of it as being a savvy food manager who knows all the tricks to get the most value from every grocery trip. It’s about mastering the art of meal planning, shopping strategically, storing food properly, preparing delicious food, and upcycling leftovers into legendary meals. These skills don’t just help your wallet – they’re your secret weapon in improving the planet’s health right from your kitchen!

How We’re Making a Difference

At the CFCWR, we’re not just talking about reducing food waste – we’re rolling our sleeves up and making it happen. Our core values are based on sustainability, health, resourcefulness, and learning from each other. Here are some things we are doing right now.

Your Go-To Resource Hub

Looking for quick tips on storing fresh herbs? Need creative recipes for those almost-too-ripe bananas? Our online resource library has everything you need! We’ve carefully curated the most reliable guides, videos, recipes, and more to help you become a food conservation pro. If you need info to help you manage food at home – like menu planning, shopping, storage, preparing and serving food, upcycling leftovers, and waste diversion — we’ve got your back. Plus, we have food waste background information and data for the science nerd in all of us!

Innovation Through Collaboration

We are also all about sharing tips and hacks to conserve food and reduce waste — based on what we know now. But we don’t want to stop there. Instead, we want to work with you to co-create new, innovative approaches using citizen science – which means working WITH YOU to identify ways to reduce food waste that work for you and might help others too!

Research That Makes Sense

We’re taking a fresh approach to food waste research by studying the relationships between how real households manage their food and how much and what types of food waste they have. By understanding this connection, we can develop better and more individualized strategies to help everyone waste less and save more, ultimately improving nutrition security, community health, and environmental sustainability for all.

Engaging the Next Generation

We know today’s youth will inherit tomorrow’s food system, so we’re investing in their future with our Food Conservation Specialist Certificate program. This innovative program combines:

• Education: A 9-week online journey where participants learn from leading experts about sustainable food systems, social determinants of health, food and nutrition security, food waste, community action, and policy development.
• Hands-on research: Our interns engage with the community to gather data about household food management practices and food waste.
• Community impact: Participants have the option to develop and implement a food waste reduction project, culminating in a community Food Conservation Summit where ideas and successes are shared.

Meet Your Food Conservation Experts

The CFCWR has distinguished experts at the helm.  These individuals are not just scientists but also regular consumers, just like you, experiencing the challenges of balancing work, raising kids, and trying to use their food in ways that keep themselves, their families, the planet, and their pocketbook healthy… aka conserving food. Let’s meet the team.

Dr. Brenna Ellison, CFCWR Director and Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University: She has honed her expertise in food waste reduction by researching how consumers make food choices – including what they choose to eat and what they choose to waste. Currently, her research focuses on studying strategies that reduce food waste and improve nutrition security. “For so long, we often thought about the issue of food waste separately from issues of dietary quality and nutrition security, but the two are very much related. At the Center, we seek to find solutions that promote food waste reduction AND better health and nutrition for consumers.”

Dr. Melissa Pflugh Prescott, CFCWR Co-Director and Assistant Professor of Nutrition,  Department of Nutrition at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine: Leveraging her expertise as a registered dietitian, Melissa’s research brings a systems-thinking approach to changing food-related behaviors so individuals can improve their health and the health of the planet. Currently, she is specifically interested in investigating how improving consumers’ household food management practices can help them reduce food waste and make their food dollars go further. “I have learned so much from other food conservers. They have challenged me to think about food and cooking differently. I look forward to the opportunities for collaboration that the Center brings to help us take action together to make food waste a thing of the past.”

Dr. Karen Byrd, CFWR Research Administrator and Outreach Coordinator, Purdue University Department of Agricultural Economics: As a registered dietitian, Karen’s research has primarily considered consumer food decisions in a foodservice context. “When I worked with foodservice operations, it was disturbing to see good food going into the trash, especially since many of the organization’s clients and families were struggling with food and nutrition security. But I didn’t think much about what I was doing at home. When I took a look, I realized that I needed to make changes to reduce food waste in my own household.” Now, at the CFCWR, Karen’s goal is to help households become food conservers so that less food goes in the trash and more food goes to feed hungry people.

Together, we want to use our collective and complementary expertise to accelerate food conservation and march toward achieving the U.S. goal of reducing food waste. But we need you on our team to make a real difference!

This work is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, project award no. 2024-68015-42110, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.

Microsoft Copilot and Claude.ai were used for editorial purposes.