At the 2021 Pennsylvania Farm Show, Pennsylvania’s Departments of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Agriculture (Ag), along with local nonprofits, highlighted how their efforts to reduce food waste can help address food insecurity. Diverting food waste from landfills helps reduce the production of methane gas but can also help feed hungry people.
A panel on food waste featured state initiatives including DEP’s Food Infrastructure Recovery Grant Program, which provides grants to nonprofits to help them prepare, transport, and store food recovered from retailers, wholesalers, farms, and others to prevent food waste. Ag’s Pennsylvania Agriculture Surplus System, which connects the agricultural industry with charitable food groups, was also touted as a way to reduce food waste while increasing food security.
Such approaches demonstrate how state agencies can work together to achieve disparate goals.
