Press Releases
Pingree and Newhouse Relaunch Bipartisan Food Recovery Caucus to Renew Congressional Action on Food Waste
Washington,
April 8, 2025
As part of National Food Waste Prevention Week, U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) relaunched the bipartisan Congressional Food Recovery Caucus, renewing efforts in Congress to combat food loss and waste nationwide. Originally co-founded by Pingree in 2018, the caucus aims to spotlight commonsense, bipartisan solutions to reduce waste across the food supply chain. The Food Recovery Caucus will continue to educate Members of Congress and staff, support federal efforts to reduce food loss and waste, and uplift successful initiatives from across the country that are rescuing surplus food and fighting hunger. “Across the country, tens of millions of Americans face food insecurity—yet we’re throwing away perfectly edible food every day,” said Pingree. “Food waste is a moral, economic, and environmental crisis. I’m proud to relaunch the bipartisan Food Recovery Caucus with Congressman Newhouse to bring greater awareness to this issue and advance smart policies to reduce instances of food loss and waste. “Food security is a real issue for millions of Americans, and the rate in which we waste food in the U.S. continues to climb,” said Newhouse. “I am proud to relaunch the Food Recovery Caucus alongside Rep. Pingree to tackle this issue in Congress and ensure those in need have access to the healthy food our farmers and ranchers work hard to deliver.” “In the U.S., almost $400B worth of food goes uneaten every year, and reducing this waste has significant benefits for our communities, environment, and the economy,” said Pete Pearson, Steering Committee Member, Zero Food Waste Coalition. “Today’s relaunch of the Food Recovery Caucus demonstrates the strong potential for action on this bi-partisan issue.” In 2018, Pingree launched Congress’s first-ever Bipartisan Food Recovery Caucus. The 2018 Farm Bill included Pingree’s provisions to create the first full-time food loss and waste liaison at USDA, a composting and food waste reduction pilot program, and the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) to reduce on-farm waste. Click here to learn more about Pingree’s efforts to reduce food waste. ### |