Divert Inc. cites summer as peak food waste season

West Concord, Massachusetts-based Divert Inc. says its data show that from 2020 to 2023 the amount of discarded food in the United States measured nearly 30 percent higher in the summertime compared with the winter months.

“While wasted food is truly a year-round crisis, our data indicates that the summer months are the leading source of food waste throughout the year,” Divert co-founder and CEO Ryan Begin says.

The increased volume may be difficult to manage for food donation networks, requiring backup infrastructure to be in place to accommodate these swings in material to avoid landfilling.

“Our findings demonstrate the importance of data in having visibility into this problem, but we must take it further to drive meaningful change," Begin says. "From here, we need real action and solution implementation with stakeholders across the industry—from consumers to retailers, food manufacturers to restaurants.”

Divert reviewed its 2020-2023 wasted food data from retail, food service and industrial customers at operating facilities to which it had access. In examining total food waste material collected each year and comparing the months of July, August and September with January, February and March of the same calendar year, it found the nearly 30 percent difference.

Divert says it has identified several key factors contributing to the summertime increase, with the first involving extreme heat.

“As we experience more extreme heat brought on by climate change, the margin of error for mishandling food increases significantly,” Divert says. "It is more critical than ever to look to solutions that can enable increased visibility and provide actionable data throughout the supply chain.”

Household consumers also change their behavior in the summer months, which are synonymous with fresh, high-quality produce available at grocery stores and a surge in consumers dining out at restaurants and bars, the company says.

To meet that challenge, Divert says technologies can be implemented that uncover key data and insights to better inform food retailers and restaurants about product life and expiration dates.

Divert, founded in 2007, provides technology and services designed to prevent waste by maximizing the freshness of food, recovering edible food to serve communities and converting wasted food into renewable energy.