Ohio State University was selected to lead a $2.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded effort to conduct and evaluate a pilot consumer campaign to test educational messages and materials designed to meaningfully reduce the amount of food that is wasted in U.S. household. The effort is led by Brian Roe, Van Buren Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and will be in partnership with Professor Sara Elnakib of Rutgers University.
Lessons learned from the pilot will be used to develop an integrated education program for governmental and non-governmental organizations for local consumer food waste reduction campaigns that will be delivered via channels across the Cooperative Extension System. This grant is the latest in a series of substantial investments and activities that USDA has undertaken to reduce food loss and waste. In recent years, USDA has invested $57 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds to reduce food loss and waste and spur action across the country from farm to table.