For the sake of food-insecure Americans, we must reduce food waste 

With the holiday season behind us, many Americans celebrated this joyous time of year with family and friends, likely around a dinner table filled with an abundance of food from turkey, ham, and roast beef to sweet potatoes, green beans, and pumpkin pie. However, not every American is fortunate enough to afford these special holiday meals, and many struggle to feed their families every day. 

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 44 million Americans, including 13 million children, live in food-insecure households. Many families turn to food pantries for help.  But today, food banks also face challenges. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, food banks have faced reduced food donations and soaring costs, as they work to meet increased demand from families who face similar pressures. Some food banks have been forced to cut back on their services, rationing the food that each household can receive.     

But the hard-to-believe reality is that while parents struggle to put food on the table for their children, more than 30 percent of food in the United States is wasted, ending up in a landfill or an incinerator.  We use more than 140 million acres of agricultural land on food that is never eaten—that’s more than two times as much agricultural land in Illinois and Iowa combined. We also use nearly 6 trillion gallons of water and 664 billion kilowatt-hours of energy on food that is never consumed—equal to the annual water and energy use of 50 million American homes.   

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), we could feed every food-insecure American with just one-third of the food that is wasted each year. That bears repeating: We could eradicate hunger in this country three times over with the food we already grow and ultimately waste.  

That’s why Sen. Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, and I recently introduced the Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act. As members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, we developed this bipartisan bill to create a new “Food Loss and Waste Reduction Certification” label at USDA.   

Like ENERGY STAR—the trusted, government-backed symbol on energy-efficient products—this new label would be available for businesses and organizations who voluntarily implement a range of science-based food waste reduction criteria developed by USDA.  Eligible participants include grocers, restaurants, farms, schools, governments and food manufacturers and distributors. 

This certification would encourage businesses and organizations to implement practices to reduce food waste, such as donating to food banks and food pantries using more environmentally friendly disposal methods like composting or avoiding waste at all stages of the supply chain. It also provides consumers with a simple, credible tool when making decisions on how to use their shopping and purchasing power most thoughtfully.

In the richest country on the planet, it makes no sense that so many of our neighbors struggle to put food on the table when we have such a great agricultural surplus. As Super Bowl Sunday approaches—another food heavy tradition with wings, pizza and more—I hope we can come together to see the Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act signed into law.  We have the resources to make sure no American goes hungry.  Let’s get it done. 

Dick Durbin is Senate majority whip.