Minimizing Methane Through Food Waste Solutions

The Catalytic Grant Fund

Minimizing Methane Through Food Waste Solutions

Current Open Call

Minimizing Methane Through Food Waste Solutions

Reducing food loss and waste is one of the most powerful levers to cut methane emissions. ReFED’s research shows that scaling food recycling and diversion is one of the most immediate, cost-effective strategies to reduce methane today, while tackling loss within beef and dairy systems can unlock major long-term impact.

ReFED’s Catalytic Grant Fund is seeking bold solutions and initiatives in two high-impact areas:

  • Advancing food recycling: Enhancing sorting, decontamination, processing, and access to create more effective and efficient systems.

  • Reducing methane in the beef and dairy sectors: Cutting loss and waste by lowering animal mortality, improving supply chain efficiency to get more products to market, preventing food waste at the household level, and reducing enteric emissions through climate-smart feed additives derived from waste streams.

To learn more about this open call theme and the challenges that ReFED aims to solve through the Catalytic Grant Fund, please visit the FAQ section.

Eligibility Requirements for this Open Call

Proposals for this open call must demonstrate the following in their Letter of Intent to be considered for funding:

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Impact: Clear, measurable evidence and/or logic that your solution or initiative advances food recycling (e.g., expanding acceptance of food waste, improving sorting and decontamination, increasing accessibility) or has the potential to reduce methane in beef and dairy (e.g., lowering mortality, reducing food loss, minimizing herd size, or cutting enteric emissions).

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Demand: Proof that target customers, users, or partners value your solution and are willing to pay for it or use it; or a demonstrated need for research to unlock potential impact.

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Scalability & Replicability: Realistic potential for the solution or initiative to expand or be replicated to maximize impact.

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Catalytic Potential: How ReFED’s funding and support is critical to unlock additional investment or impact that wouldn’t be possible otherwise, due to the proposal’s unique nature, risk profile, and/or economic factors.

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Strong Team: Depth and combination of necessary skills, expertise, and resources to successfully execute the proposal.

Proposals that could be a good fit for this open call as it pertains to reducing methane in the beef and dairy sectors include, but are not limited to:

  • Reducing Mortality Rates: Premature animal deaths waste the methane, feed, land, and water invested. Reducing mortality improves emissions efficiency by maximizing conversion of resources into food. The Grant Fund seeks proposals that prevent premature deaths and decrease mortality rates, helping meet demand with fewer overall animals and potentially limiting herd growth and associated emissions.

    • Example Solution: Autonomous livestock behavior & health monitoring

  • Preventing Food Loss & Waste: The Grant Fund seeks solutions that reduce loss and waste in the beef and dairy supply chain. By ensuring more product reaches market, these solutions can increase the marketable output per animal and signal that fewer animals are needed to meet demand, potentially reducing herd size and environmental impacts. Solutions can operate at any stage, from production and processing to retail and households, so long as they demonstrate meaningful impact and a viable pathway for adoption.

    • Example Solutions: Supply chain optimization technologies, shelf-life extension solutions, intelligent packaging, cold chain technologies, enhanced inventory management, or household-level interventions that reduce beef and dairy waste.

  • Food Waste as a Climate-Smart Feed Additive: The Fund supports approaches that use specific food waste streams as cattle feed additives to reduce enteric emissions while maintaining animal health and productivity.

    • Example Solutions: Further testing and development of grape pomace as a climate-smart feed additive, which has shown initial evidence of reducing enteric emissions by at least 10%.

  • Higher-Value Byproduct Upcycling in Beef & Dairy: The beef and dairy industries have a strong incentive to waste as little as possible and are already geared towards maximizing utilization, hence the saying that they use, “everything but the squeal.” The Grant Fund will consider newer, alternative upcycling solutions that can take byproducts and transform them into products with even higher economic value and greater climate impact.

Proposals that could be a good fit for this open call as it pertains to advancing food recycling include, but are not limited to:

  • Expanding Acceptance of Food Waste: About 2,700 U.S. composting facilities currently process only yard trimmings and are not equipped to handle food waste. Many could be retrofitted to accept food scraps, significantly expanding national composting capacity. The Grant Fund seeks proposals that enable these facilities to process food waste.

    • Example: Equipment or infrastructure upgrades to enable a facility to accept and process food waste alongside yard trimmings

  • Increased Accessibility to Food Waste Diversion Solutions & Initiatives: Not all communities and businesses have access to food waste diversion solutions that keep organic material out of landfills. The Grant Fund seeks solutions that broaden access and participation.

    • Examples: Community Composting; On-Site Waste Diversion Solutions

  • Enhanced Sorting & Decontamination Technologies: Contamination limits the effectiveness of food recycling. The Grant Fund seeks solutions that simplify sorting for individuals and develop decontamination technologies to ensure waste streams are accepted and diverted from landfills.

    • Examples: Automated systems that sort different types of waste streams; Tools or apps guiding individuals on proper bin use; Development of technologies that decontaminate waste streams to prevent rejection and landfill disposal.

Proposals that are ineligible for this open call include:

  • Algae-Based Enteric Emissions Reduction Strategies

  • Chemical Medicines or Medical Treatments of Cattle

  • Alternative Protein Initiatives

  • Policy Engagement

  • Consumer Education Campaigns

  • Development of New Full-Scale Food Recycling Facilities

To learn more about this open call theme and the challenges that ReFED aims to solve through the Catalytic Grant Fund, please review the FAQ page.

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We are deeply grateful to our funder partners who make the Catalytic Grant Fund possible, sharing our mission and vision for a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive food system.

Learn more about how you can be part of this initiative by contacting Sam Buck, ReFED's Director of Development & Strategic Impact at [email protected].

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Learn About Our Previous Open Call

Maximizing the Harvest

On-farm produce loss is a major contributor to food waste, with U.S. farms generating more than 17 million tons of surplus food in 2023 alone. This surplus—nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables—represents a missed opportunity to reach its original intended consumer, all while millions face hunger. ReFED’s Catalytic Grant Fund is seeking innovative technologies, solutions, and initiatives that can reduce on-farm waste, maximize the value of surplus produce, and establish new market opportunities while increasing profitability for farmers. Join us in eliminating and valorizing on-farm food loss!

ReFED is working with food businesses, funders, researchers, food waste solution providers, policymakers, and more to solve food waste.

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