Reducing Food Waste

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree applauded new industry standards on food date labeling released today by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute. She will soon be reintroducing legislation to set a national uniform system for date labeling.  “Per capita, food waste in the U.S. costs a family of four $1,500 every year. Much of that food is… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree has kicked off her efforts in the new Congress to reduce food waste.  She is an original cosponsor of a bipartisan bill, The Food Donation Act of 2017, introduced yesterday by Congresswoman Marcia Fudge to modernize food donation protections, and plans to reintroduce two food waste bills in the coming weeks.  “Food waste in America is a… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree applauded guidance the USDA released yesterday encouraging manufacturers to use a “Best if used by” date label.  “It’s estimated that 30 percent of the food consumers purchase gets thrown out.  Much of that waste has to do with confusion over the meaning of a barrage of inconsistent date labels—‘Best by,’… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree testified before the House Agriculture Committee today to kick off the first-ever Congressional hearing focused on the problem of food waste in the United States. "When good food goes to waste on the farm, it means the resources used to grow that food—fuel, labor and water—is also wasted.  When it goes to waste in a local restaurant it means… Read more »

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) today introduced commonsense bicameral legislation to standardize food date labeling. The current dizzying array of date labels on food products—such as “sell by,” “use by,” and “expires on”— confuses consumers and contributes to 90 percent of Americans… Read more »

Loan program will help farmers buy refrigerated trucks, storage and processing facilities, thanks to legislation written by Pingree Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a big expansion of a loan program that will now help small farmers acquire refrigerated trucks and mobile processing and storage facilities so they can more… Read more »

A tax break that Congresswoman Chellie Pingree says will reduce food waste passed the House today as part of a larger package of tax provisions. The provision creates a permanent, "enhanced" tax deduction for grocery stores, restaurants, and farmers who donate excess food to organizations like food banks and soup kitchens.   The provision, which is part of Pingree's Food Recovery… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said that the president of Shaw's Supermarkets told her that the company would revisit their policy on donating perishable food to groups that work to feed hungry families. Jim Rice, head of the Shaw's chain, told Pingree that the company is committed to helping local hunger organizations and would reexamine a decision made two years ago to stop a program… Read more »

UPDATE:  Congresswoman Chellie Pingree released the following statement after being contacted by Shaw’s Supermarkets. Shaw's has told me they will reinstate the food donation program that benefits the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program.  That's great news for the program in Brunswick and I'm glad Shaw's reconsidered.  But there are a lot of other hunger programs… Read more »

Pingree's Food Recovery Act aims to reduce food waste Read more »