The last twelve months have been challenging for millions of Americans and businesses alike. But despite all the turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there were hundreds of stories of perseverance and community that shone bright. To close out 2020, we want to celebrate some of those stories we shared and the things we achieved this year and invite you to join us as we toast to a brighter 2021.
New Projects for 2020
Though 2020 presented many hurdles, we are proud to have pushed forward with several new initiatives and opportunities to foster more sustainable living.
We expanded our email program by launching the Food and Fuel News Roundups, two opt-in email subscriptions that offered recent news and insights in each category, curated by our team.
We launched our Local Food Toolkit to help novices and experts get involved in their local food systems, from farmers market shopping to growing their own food to advocating on behalf of food producers. Hundreds of you downloaded and shared the toolkit and took action toward supporting local food in a time when it’s needed more than ever.
We also launched How Do You Fuel, our new quiz and education initiative to help individuals reflect on their habits and how fossil fuels have a hand in the actions and decisions we make. More than 1,500 people took our quiz throughout the year and assessed their impact.
Top Blog Posts of 2020
Four Food Waste Innovators from CES 2020
Back in January (which feels like AGES ago), we profiled a handful of food waste innovators at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. Many of their ideas and products are still in development, but we’re still very excited to see how things progress in the months and years ahead.
Mapping How Food Gets from Farms to Homes
Easier this year, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign made a visual map of the U.S. food supply chain to showcase how far food typically travels to reach our supermarkets and kitchens. We published a story written by one of the researchers and are excited about future research which aims to showcase the link between infrastructure and food accessibility.
How to Regenerate Your Salad from Food Scraps
One of our most practical posts of 2020, we explored how you can regrow lettuce and other greens from the stems of the lettuce you purchase at the grocery store. Not a big lettuce fan? We also offer a few tips for regrowing other veggies, too!
From Food Waste to Cleaning Spray
One of this year’s most innovative new companies was Veles, the household cleaner made exclusively from food waste. We won’t spoil their secret (we don’t even have all the details!) but we’re excited to see more from this innovative company in the years ahead.
Community Changemaker: Teens Grow Greens
Urban agriculture meets professional development! Teens Grow Greens is a community changemaker making a true impact in the lives of Milwaukee students and giving them the tools and knowledge to succeed in food businesses AND real life.
ReFED’s COVID-19 Solutions Fund
As the food system was upended by the pandemic this year, global food waste solutions nonprofit ReFED stepped up to secure and distribute funding to dozens of organizations, groups and companies who were mobilizing to fight food waste and food insecurity. Since publishing this post, ReFED has distributed more than $3.5 million to organizations in the U.S.
Thanks again for reading and supporting us this year and may we all have a safe and happy 2021!
