By Mary Mazzoni / Source: TriplePundit

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These planters were 3-D printed using — you guessed it — food waste.

Food waste is a staggering global problem: Roughly a third of the food produced for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — is lost or wasted, according to the United Nations Environmental Program. Meanwhile, 805 million people around the world are estimated to be chronically undernourished. The juxtaposition is enough to put you off your lunch.

We have a long way to go before we fully address this problem, but a select few companies are taking innovative approaches to cut those figures down to size. From small startups to major multinationals, this week we tip our hats to 10 companies that are rethinking food waste.

1. Panera Bread

Like most cafes, Panera Bread serves fresh baked goods to its customers daily, meaning all unsold items need to be discarded at closing time. Rather than toss perfectly edible bagels, breads and desserts into the trash, Panera Bread sends these items to local nonprofits — as it has done since its inception.

Through the company’s Day-End Dough-Nation program, Panera bakery-cafes donate approximately $100 million worth of unsold bread and baked goods every year.

2. Rude Food

Swedish caterer Rude Food is all about rethinking food waste: The all-volunteer, mostly vegan catering service cooks up accessible and easy-to-replicate meals made almost entirely from food waste. Around 95 percent of everything that Rude Food makes comes from “expired” items, blemished produce, or leftovers from salad bars and the like, Fast Company reported this week.

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Original Unverpackt co-founder Sara Wolf (left) packs up some perfectly-portioned bulk buys.

3. Original Unverpackt

Original Unverpackt, a concept store in Berlin, is basically the grocery store of the future. Shoppers purchase everything in bulk using reusable containers — eliminating the need for packaging. And don’t get hung up on the term “bulk buying.” Customers can purchase as much or as little as they need, which can drastically cut down on food waste at home.

4. Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, the Fortune 500 restaurant giant known for brands like Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Bahama Breeze, began its Darden Harvest food rescue program more than 10 years ago. Through the program, restaurant employees box up food that has passed internal sell-by dates — but is still perfectly fit for consumption — and sends it to local hunger relief organizations.

With full participation from all Darden restaurants, the program has donated more than 77 million pounds of surplus food – totaling more than 100 million meals – to hungry families since its inception.

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Developed in partnership with Google, Sainsbury Food Rescue is a mobile and Web application tool that provides users with ideas for leftover food.

5. Sainsbury’s

Donating unsold food to hunger relief organizations can dramatically cut down on the organic waste grocers send to local landfills. But what about spoiled or damaged food that can’t be donated? Sainsbury’s, the second largest grocery store chain in the U.K., may have devised a solution: The company collects inedible food waste from 1,200 locations and turns into energy to power its stores.

Read more @ TriplePundit