Ohio State and Columbus Join Forces to Test Innovative Food Waste Reduction Strategies

The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) has partnered with the City of Columbus to pilot a consumer-focused food waste reduction campaign, with Columbus serving as the first test site for the initiative.

The project, led by Brian Roe, the Fred N. VanBuren Professor of Farm Management in the CFAES Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, aims to reduce the amount of food wasted in Columbus households and contribute to broader national efforts to address food waste.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Columbus on this important pilot project,” Roe said. “Columbus’s diverse population and commitment to sustainability make it an ideal location to test and evaluate the effectiveness of various food waste reduction strategies.”

The campaign is part of a larger $2.5 million USDA-funded initiative that will test different food waste reduction strategies in three U.S. cities. The findings will inform a broader national campaign to help curb food loss and waste across the country.

The partnership includes collaboration with Rutgers University, which will help develop educational materials and a community of practice for organizations interested in food waste reduction.

Roe noted that about one-third of all food is wasted in the United States, with nearly half occurring in homes.

“People are often unaware of how much food they discard, and many households don’t realize the financial loss they experience when food goes to waste,” he said. “Given the high price of food that consumers face today, reducing food waste means spending less to feed your household, which nearly everyone can appreciate.”

The U.S. sends nearly 80 billion pounds of food to municipal solid waste landfills annually. According to the EPA, food is the single largest category of material placed in U.S. municipal landfills, where it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Municipal landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the country.

Roe emphasized that the benefits of reducing food waste go beyond individual households.

“If less food were wasted across an entire community, it would relieve the pressure on local governments to find more landfill space, and it means existing landfills would produce less pollution, as food in landfills is particularly problematic,” he said. “On a larger scale, if an entire region or country reduced food waste, it would take pressure off the food system to produce as much, which would help conserve resources and put downward pressure on prices across the entire country.”

“This, in turn, would ease food insecurity by allowing households who struggle to put food on the table to stretch their food budgets further.”

The City of Columbus was selected for its proactive engagement and willingness to collaborate on a project of this scale.

“Through our Climate Action Plan, we’re committed to reducing the nearly 1 million pounds of food taken to the landfill each day,” said Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “This unique opportunity to partner with The Ohio State University will not only help Columbus families learn how they can save on their grocery bills, but also potentially benefit the whole community through waste diverted from our landfill and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”

The campaign will evaluate existing food waste reduction strategies, identify best practices, and develop a blueprint for other cities to follow. The team will also work closely with community organizations and stakeholders to ensure the campaign’s messages resonate with Columbus residents.

“The ultimate goal is to develop a campaign that reduces food waste and provides real savings for households,” Roe said. “If successful, this campaign can inform other cities’ efforts, leading to reduced food waste on a much larger scale.”

The Columbus pilot, which will begin in early 2025, will use a rigorous evaluation process to measure the impact of different food waste reduction approaches. Data will be collected in areas that receive the campaign materials and in areas that do not, providing a clear picture of what strategies work best.

Lessons learned from the campaign will be shared through the community of practice led by Rutgers University to help other municipalities implement similar efforts. Researchers will conduct three measurements during the campaign—one baseline assessment and two follow-ups after distributing campaign materials—to compare control routes with treatment routes.

Insights gained from this pilot will inform efforts in two additional cities set to launch in mid-2025 and early 2026. Results and lessons learned will be shared through a community of practice developed in collaboration with Rutgers University. This initiative will provide outreach resources, including webinars, to assist other communities in implementing consumer food waste reduction campaigns.

“Addressing food waste at the household level can have a ripple effect on the entire food system, leading to lower food prices, reduced pressure on landfills, and decreased environmental impact,” Roe said. “We look forward to seeing how the Columbus community responds to this campaign and hope it can serve as a model for other cities across the nation.”