Often credited for launching the national food waste movement, this was the 10th anniversary summit and the 10th anniversary of ReFED\u2019s “Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste”, which set an ambitious vision for transforming the way America produces, manages, and thinks about food waste. Later that year, the Forum launched its first dedicated food waste program, the Western Michigan Food Recovery Council later that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe core conviction of this group to help food go to its best use creates an impact that is bigger than the food itself,\u201d noted ReFED President Dana Gunders in her keynote address at the start of the first mainstage session of the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then, the field has continued to grow, solutions have scaled, and momentum has built in ways both measurable and inspiring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For MiSBF, it was especially valuable to collaborate with regional and national partners aligned closely with the work we are advancing in Michigan through the Double Food Donation Campaign, campus food waste reduction efforts, sustainable food service product work, and broader food system collaboration. (If you’re interested in learning more about any of these efforts, please reach out!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few reflections we are bringing home:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Forum\u2019s participation in the summit was made possible by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund through its Attend\/Present Scholarship. The 2027 ReFED Summit will be held in Chicago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Organicycle Selected for Prestigious Food Waste Program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ReFED announced the newest cohort of grantees selected through its Catalytic Grant Fund, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to provide flexible, risk-tolerant capital to food waste solutions with the potential for outsized climate impact. Grand Rapids-based composting service and compost facility Organicycle was announced as one of the program\u2019s nine awardees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest cohort, Minimizing Methane Through Food Waste Solutions, focused on supporting solutions that address methane emissions in two critical areas: advancing food recycling infrastructure to keep organic waste out of landfills and reducing methane emissions across beef and dairy supply chains through innovative feed and waste-to-value solutions. Methane is responsible for roughly one-third of current global warming, and food waste is one of its largest and most overlooked drivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Organicycle is pioneering a partnership model with Waste Management to co-locate composting operations at existing waste sites, reducing permitting friction and accelerating infrastructure buildout in regions like Michigan and Northern Indiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Forum supported the application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Local Solutions Highlighted at Michigan Recycling Coalition Kalamazoo Conference<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At Michigan Recycling Coalition’s 44th annual conference in Kalamazoo, the Forum was acknowledged by Meijer Senior Vice President Tina Dekker for recognizing Meijer as a 2025 Sustainable Business of the Year. Meijer’s leadership in sustainability has been described in four Forum case studies, including C\u00f3mo trabaja Meijer para reducir la p\u00e9rdida y el desperdicio de alimentos<\/em><\/a>, C\u00f3mo Meijer super\u00f3 su objetivo de reducci\u00f3n de emisiones de carbono un a\u00f1o antes de lo previsto<\/em><\/a>, C\u00f3mo lograr la circularidad a gran escala: la estrategia de reciclaje de Meijer<\/em><\/a>, y C\u00f3mo Meijer lidera la adopci\u00f3n de infraestructura ecol\u00f3gica para aguas pluviales<\/em><\/a>. All of these efforts and more were highlighted in the keynote address by Dekker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n MRC breakout sessions featured the successes of Shiawassee Recycles, a new organization involving the Shiawassee Regional Chamber of Commerce, Resourceful Recycling, the Great Lakes Family of Companies, and other partners to build out recycling resources in the Great Lakes Bay area. In a panel session moderated by Brad Austin<\/a>, Director of Business Development at Great Lakes Family of Companies, panelists described the unique and multifaceted approaches to sustainable materials management that are being implemented in the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “This is a group that gets things done,” Austin said about Shiawassee Recycles. “They are results oriented.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/misbf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/07\/IMG_6127-1024x768.jpeg\")
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