Both the Nashville Food Waste Initiative and the Mayor’s Food Saver Challenge focus on landfill-diversion strategies based on the U.S. EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy, which outlines, in rank order, the most effective management strategies for wasted food that offer the greatest amount of environmental, social and economic benefits.

Up to forty percent of all food in America goes uneaten, with 95 percent of that wasted food ending up in landfills or incinerators, according to NRDC. In 2015, NRDC selected Nashville as its pilot city for developing high-impact local policies and on-the-ground actions to address food waste.

• Up to forty percent of the food we produce in the United States goes uneaten. When we waste that food, we waste all the water, energy, agricultural chemicals, labor, and other resources that go into growing, storing and transporting it. Most waste occurs among consumers, restaurants, grocery stores, and institutional food service operations. This Challenge will engage many hospitality and food service businesses of different types in reducing and raising awareness about food waste.

• Participating businesses will save money by adopting practices that reduce food waste.

• Businesses that complete the Challenge will be recognized by the Mayor.

• Businesses that sign up to send organic waste to be composted through one of Nashville’s compost haulers will receive a discount if participating in the Challenge.

• Benefits to the community include increasing the amount of donated food, reducing the amount of organic waste sent to landfill, and raising local awareness.

Food-Saving Practices Checklist

Food-Saving Resources