Addressing food waste and hunger through MealConnect

Ensuring no food goes to waste

Around the world, food waste remains a major problem.

According to ReFED, a collaboration of business, nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders committed to reducing food waste in the U.S., 38% of U.S. food supply goes to waste annually. While a small portion of U.S. surplus food is diverted for donation to help people in need, too much of the nation’s food goes to landfill, becomes incinerated or is left in fields unharvested.

Simultaneously, millions of people around the world are experiencing hunger.

Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization with a powerful and efficient network of food banks and agency partners, estimates approximately 1 in 6 people turned to charitable food assistance for additional support last year. Additionally, a recent survey found that 80% of Feeding America partner food banks reported either increased or steady demand for emergency food services in June 2023.

At General Mills, we are grounded in the belief that everyone should be food secure and free from hunger. To ensure no food goes to waste and that the world’s precious food is used to nourish people, we leverage our philanthropy as well as General Mills’ deep food system expertise and reach to expand surplus food redistribution and recovery across the food industry.

In partnership with Feeding America, General Mills aligned on a food rescue intervention that would overturn the norm – helping advance food recovery and redistribution of good food to people in need.

Bringing MealConnect to life