Dear Friend:
This year was one for the record books―and not in a good way.
We saw more weather tragedies than ever before, including a devastating and record-breaking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, fires continuing to expand their reach, and ever-increasing severity and frequency of hurricanes and tornadoes. Our food system continued to struggle with supply chain disruptions and uncertainty in product availability as a result of the weather challenges, with some crop productivity uncertain well into 2022. And the pandemic continued to impact our business and enterprise sectors.
It was no surprise to many of us that the UN came out with a “code red” warning for humanity in its IPCC report in August, calling attention to the catastrophic effects of climate change on all living things on the planet. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, as part of the release of the report, that "Inclusive and green economies, prosperity, cleaner air and better health are possible for all, if we respond to this crisis with solidarity and courage."
There is one proven solution that we can all contribute to every day with every choice we make―fighting food loss and waste.
Supporting the food loss and waste movement is the one thing you can do that offers the most co-benefits systemically. First, it clearly addresses the climate crisis by affecting methane production and reducing our waste streams. It assures better uses of our soil and water resources, conservation of land and native ecosystems, and continuing biodiversity. On the business front, it generates better bottom-line results for food businesses from the farm to the fork. It helps gets healthy, nutritious food into the hands of people who need it, especially the 32 million Americans who are food insecure. And, it’s one of the only solutions that the IPCC calls both a mitigation and adaptation strategy for climate change.
ReFED is the national nonprofit organization committed to fighting food loss and waste to address climate change and secure a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food system. We work at the systems level to drive the change needed to reach the goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030.
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There is still time to make a tax-deductible donation this year to help ReFED lead the fight against food loss and waste. Please take a moment to think about the impact we can have because of your support. It matters. And whatever your donation, it will be deeply appreciated.
We want 2022 to be a very different kind of year, and hope you will help us get there with your donation today.
Thank you,
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Shawn Shepherd,
Director of Development
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P.S. - We now accept gifts of stock; please reach out to me at shawn.shepherd@refed.org to get my personal assistance at making this kind of gift.
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