Rockefeller Fund Commits $130 Million to Cutting Food Waste

The Rockefeller Foundation unveiled a $130 million program Thursday to tackle hunger by slashing waste all along the global food-production chain, The New York Times reports. The announcement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, reflects the philanthropy’s growing involvement in a no-waste movement that has gained traction in international talks on food security and climate-change impacts.

The foundation estimates that waste — from families throwing out meal scraps to multinational companies destroying imperfect-looking but edible crops — drains $1 trillion from the global economy and takes off the table food that could feed more than 1.5 billion people. Rockefeller aims to enlist governments and businesses in a slate of waste-cutting programs, such as helping small farmers build crop longevity and developing markets for “ugly food,” with much of the focus on the developing world.