Make Food Not Waste director urges municipal action to cut food waste and boost food-security efforts

Danielle Todd, executive director of Make Food Not Waste, described the nonprofit's work to reduce household and commercial food waste and to repurpose surplus food into community meals.

"We have a team of professional chefs that make about 120,000 meals a year, all from food that would otherwise be thrown away," Todd said, describing a kitchen the organization set up during the COVID-19 pandemic to convert surplus commercial food into meals for local distribution.

Todd said household food waste is the single largest source of wasted food in the system, and that Make Food Not Waste is working with the 15 most-populated municipalities in Southeast Michigan — including Canton Township — to reimagine municipal roles in preventing food from reaching landfills. She urged small changes at home and municipal partnerships to reduce waste and save money.

Citing statewide figures presented at the event, Todd said Michigan produces an estimated 2,000,000,000 pounds of food waste annually and that roughly 14.2% of Michiganders face food insecurity. She positioned municipal action as central to reaching Michigan's goal of halving food waste by 2030 and invited attendees to volunteer with the organization's kitchen and to collaborate on municipal strategies.

During the closing remarks, the moderator also recommended the app Too Good To Go as a way for businesses to sell surplus food at a discount, and urged vendors to reduce Styrofoam use to limit landfill impacts.

Todd’s presentation linked food-waste reduction to both climate impacts (methane from landfills) and local food-security outcomes, and she encouraged residents and municipalities to adopt practical steps to reduce waste.