Food Matters: Baltimore, Denver, and Nashville Case Studies

Case studies were co-authored with our partner organizations.

Food waste is an international problem with local solutions. City and county governments, alongside local organizations, are well-positioned to reduce food waste through local initiatives to prevent food from being discarded, rescue surplus food to help address food gaps in local communities, and recycle food scraps to minimize what goes into landfills and incinerators.

The Food Matters project at NRDC partners with cities to achieve meaningful reductions in food waste through comprehensive policies and programs. Through this project, NRDC has worked closely with local stakeholders and government officials in Baltimore, Denver, and Nashville to limit food waste. NRDC helped to support local organizations, build new programs, and create the infrastructure necessary to reduce food waste long term.

These case studies examine our on-the-ground work in these three cities, from developing school curriculums to working with local compost and hauling organizations, highlighting lessons learned and wisdom gained. As other cities explore options for reducing food waste, they may find this information helpful to evaluating the scope of the problem and implementing effective local solutions.