UNFI joins food waste pact as fourth distributor
UNFI becomes the fourth distributor to sign the Food Waste Pact, joining ReFED and WWF in a voluntary effort to cut food loss across its 30,000 retail customers
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) announced Thursday that it has become the fourth distribution company to sign the U.S. Food Waste Pact, a voluntary agreement coordinated by the nonprofit groups ReFED and the World Wildlife Fund.
UNFI joins a growing coalition of food‑chain players
Based in Providence, Rhode Island, the company supplies roughly 30,000 retail customers with a range of products, from natural and organic items to conventional and private‑label goods. By joining the pact, UNFI will add its waste‑data to a benchmarking pool that has previously been dominated by retailers and food‑service operators.
The pact follows a “Target, Measure, Act” framework. Signatories are expected to collect waste data from their own operations, share best practices at multi‑stakeholder gatherings, and test solutions through intervention projects.
“Joining the U.S. Food Waste Pact builds on our ongoing work to advance our commitment to achieving zero waste to landfill by 2030,” said Alisha Real, UNFI’s vice president of sustainability and impact. “We look forward to learning from fellow signatories and contributing our experience as we work together to identify practical solutions that can help reduce waste, improve resource efficiency and strengthen food recovery efforts.”
They aim for zero waste.
Related: Southeast Piggly Wiggly Launches Affordable Protein Initiative
What the pact means for waste reduction targets
UNFI has set a corporate goal of zero waste to landfill by 2030. The company reported that in 2025 it diverted 85 percent of its food waste away from landfill through prevention measures, donations, recycling and other diversion programs.
ReFED’s latest estimate suggests that about 29 percent of all food in the United States—roughly 70 million tons—remains unsold or uneaten each year. That translates to 114 billion lost meals and $380 billion in value, representing 1.3 percent of U.S. GDP.
Food waste also accounts for more than 3 percent of the nation’s greenhouse‑gas emissions and consumes over 15 percent of its freshwater supply.
These figures are a slight improvement from the 31 percent rate ReFED reported for most of 2025. The pact’s 2025 impact report, released in March, showed that unsold food rates at grocery stores fell 1.1 percent from 2023 to 2024, even though the total volume of unsold food rose by 77,800 tons, indicating higher inventory turnover.
The food‑service sector’s food‑efficiency rate declined by 5.7 percent over the same period.
Related: Martin Plans Aug 7 Celebration for VA Store
For the roughly 30,000 retail outlets UNFI serves, the inclusion of its data adds a distribution perspective that has been missing from prior analyses. This broader view could help identify waste hotspots beyond the retail floor, such as in transportation or storage facilities.
From a practical standpoint, the move may affect grocery chains that rely on UNFI for product sourcing. With more detailed waste metrics, retailers might adjust ordering practices or improve inventory management to align with the pact’s goals. Smaller stores, often constrained by limited shelf space, could benefit from shared best‑practice insights that help them reduce spoilage and unsold inventory.
Sara Burnett, executive director at ReFED, welcomed the addition, saying, “We look forward to having UNFI join us at the table. They bring significant scale and decades of experience in the distribution sector, and we’re excited to see how their participation accelerates our shared goal of reducing food waste.”
The partnership highlights a growing trend of collaboration across the food supply chain, as companies seek to meet sustainability targets while managing cost pressures. While UNFI’s pledge is a notable step, the overall impact will depend on how effectively the data is used to drive concrete changes in operations and policy.
