Top: The new open call is focusing on advancing food recycling and reducing methane in the beef and dairy sectors. Image courtesy ReFED

ReFED, the U.S.-based nonprofit working to solve food waste, announced a new open call targeting methane reduction for its Catalytic Grant Fund, “a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to support food waste solutions with catalytic funding that can unlock outsized impact,” according to ReFED. The fund, Minimizing Methane Through Food Waste Solutions,”  will focus on solutions 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.

ReFED is set to begin accepting applications for the new fund in December 2025. The organization is seeking additional funders over the next several months to unlock greater impact for this open call, given how critical it is to reduce food waste to minimize the immediate effects of climate change, explains Angel Veza, director of innovation initiatives at ReFED. “Solutions that capture value from wasted food, paired with innovations that reshape how we manage beef and dairy systems, can fundamentally shift the methane curve for years to come,” she says. “Catalytic capital is essential to unlock these opportunities, bridging the gap for innovators and accelerating solutions to scale.” Proposals for this open call must demonstrate the following to be considered for funding: Impact, demand, scalability and replicability, catalytic potential, and strong team.