Stop Food Waste Day Date in the current year: April 24, 2024

The term “food loss and waste” refers to food that ends up not eaten. According to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food loss occurs during production, processing and distribution, whereas food waste occurs at the retail and consumption level. It is generally believed that about one third of all food produced by human consumption gets lost or wasted between harvest/slaughter/catch up and consumption.

Food loss and waste is everyone’s problem, whether they realize it or not. When food gets wasted, it means that all resources that were used to produce it (land, water, labor, energy, capital, etc.) go to waste as well. Food loss is also a major part of the impact of agriculture on the environment.

Since food waste occurs at every stage of the food supply chain, reducing it is everyone’s responsibility. Consumers can do just as much for reducing food waste as farmers, producers, distributors, and retailers. You can make your contribution by purchasing only the amount of food you really need, paying attention to the “use by” dates on food packaging, storing you food properly, utilizing leftovers, and learning food preservation techniques.

Stop Food Waste Day was launched in 2017 by Compass Group USA, a subsidiary of the British multinational contract food service company Compass Group. It brings together consumers, influencers, companies, nonprofits, and other stakeholders from all over the world to draw public attention to the global food waste issue and raise awareness of the ways to minimize food waste in our daily lives.

The motto of Stop Food Waste Day is “Prevent, Inspire and Repurpose”: prevent food waste by storing your food correctly, planning your meals in advance and using every edible part of every cooking ingredient; inspire others by your example; repurpose food by giving a second life to ingredients that would normally go to waste or donating excess food to your local food bank or another charity that will find a use for it.

There are many ways to participate in Stop Food Waste Day. You can attend one of the events held by Compass Group and its partners or even organize an event of your own, try recipes utilizing leftovers or products that commonly go to waste such as bruised vegetables or stale bread, learn to store perishable foods correctly and plan your meals, and spread the word about the observance on social media with the hashtag #StopFoodWasteDay.

Stop Food Waste Day isn’t the only awareness campaign with a focus on the problem of food waste. For example, World Disco Soup Day takes place on the last Saturday of April. It was created to encourage people to use small, misshapen and otherwise unattractive, but perfectly edible vegetables in various recipes to reduce the amount of food waste. Another food-waste focused observance is International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. Initiated by the FAO, it is observed annually on September 29.