Research team receives grant for food waste reduction study

The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a grant for almost half a million dollars to professors at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, California, to research food waste solutions, a report by KCBX says.

According to the report, Cal Poly Economics Department Chair Steve Hamilton’s research team wants to find a diversion for food waste at every step of the process, from farmers to retailers to consumers.

The team, composed of faculty and students from Cal Poly, Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and Cornell University in Ithica, New York, will be looking at different ways to incorporate secondary food markets into the main market, such as connecting retailers with food banks, locally-grown retailers and restaurants to prevent food waste.

Hamilton told KCBX that an example would be for retailers to predict its excess inventory quicker to move its stock into the secondary market. Other research includes mislabeling, seasonal surpluses and spoilage.

According to the report, the study is scheduled to start in the summer and run for two years.