Food Waste Workshop: Tackling a Global Challenge Together

Please note: Workshop and associated event times vary per day - detailed schedule will be shared with all registrants

Food Waste Workshop: Tackling a Global Challenge Together

We are pleased to announce the second-annual Food Waste Workshop, taking place from October 22–24, 2025, and hosted by University of Massachusetts Amherst under the leadership of Prof. Arzum Akkas. The workshop is co-organized by Prof. Dorothee Honhon (University of Texas at Dallas) and Prof. Alexander Hübner (Technical University of Munich).

Building on the success of previous edition, the 2024 workshop at the Technical University of Munich, this year’s event will continue to bring together leading researchers and industry experts to address one of the most urgent global sustainability issues: food waste. Explore insights and highlights from the previous Food Waste Workshop here.

Food waste accounts for more than one-third of all food produced globally, contributing significantly to environmental degradation, economic inefficiency, and social inequality. The workshop fosters interdisciplinary dialogue and actionable solutions to enable the transition toward more sustainable and circular food systems.

Key topics will include:

• Measurement and transparency in food waste data
• Technological innovations in supply chain and retail
• Behavioral and systemic factors driving food loss
• Collaboration between academia, industry, and policy makers

Participation is by invitation only. For more information or to request an invitation please contact aakkas@umass.edu.

We look forward to a stimulating exchange of ideas and strategies to advance research and practice in food waste reduction.

Preliminary schedule

**Please note all activities and meals require prior registration

Wednesday, Oct. 22 

• 4:30-5:30 p.m. Site Visit to Vanguard Renewables in Deerfield, MA (4 p.m. departure from Inn on Boltwood, Amherst, MA).
• 6 p.m. Dinner at Inn on Boltwood (cash bar, presentation by Vanguard Renewables between dinner & dessert).

Thursday, Oct. 23

• 7:35 a.m. Meet in front of Bruegger's Bagels (170 N Pleasant St., Amherst, MA) to walk to Old Chapel on UMass Campus.
• 8:15-10:30 a.m. Workshop program.
• 10:30-11 a.m. Break.
• 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Workshop program.
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. Lunch.
• 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Workshop program.
• 3:30 - 5 p.m. Workshop program.
• 5:45 p.m. Bus Departs Haigis Mall (UMass) for downtown Northampton.
• 7:30 p.m. Dinner at Union Station Northampton (125 Pleasant St., Northampton, MA - presentation by Big Y between dinner & dessert).

Friday, Oct. 24

• 7:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast at the Inn on Boltwood (30 Boltwood Ave, Amherst, MA).
• 8:15-9:35 a.m. Workshop program.
• 9:35-10:05 a.m. Break.
• 10:05 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Workshop program

Reducing food waste means shaping a better future.