Happy Monday 👋

Did you know that about 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted every year?

At the same time, it’s estimated that 828 million people around the world go hungry every year, particularly in developing countries…

So, today, I would like to share an event with you that raises awareness of food waste and provides us with the tools we need to save food wherever possible!

Here are the impactful insights that I have for you today:

• Ending food waste 🚮
• The solar glass that produces electricity 🪟
• The new legal movement protecting rivers 🏞️
• Discussion of the week: reducing food waste in our daily lives 💬
• And more… 💚

🚮 Event of the Week: Stop Food Waste Day

👉 Did you know that this Wednesday (April 30) is Stop Food Waste Day? This is a global event fighting to reduce food waste by raising awareness of the issue and sharing practical, creative, and impactful ways to change our habits and save more food.

1️⃣ The big picture: Stop Food Waste Day was launched in 2017 by Compass Group USA, one of the world’s largest food service companies working with restaurants, hospitals, and schools. Compass Group’s mission is to teach their chefs how to track and reduce waste as much as possible, and through this event, they wanted to bring these tools and knowledge to people worldwide. Today, Stop Food Waste Day is a global movement that has helped millions of people take the pledge to end food waste, share tips on how to reduce food loss at home, and join the global conversation on how we can reduce our consumer impact. The event collaborates with experienced chefs to make it easy for everyone to reduce food loss by creating delicious meals that give a second life to ingredients that commonly go to waste.

2️⃣ Why is this important: ⅓ of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, amounting to 1.3 billion tons of food each year. If 25% of the food currently being wasted was saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million people worldwide. Moreover, the cost of food waste for the global economy is around $940 billion. In addition, when food is wasted, all the resources used to produce the food – including water, land, energy, labor, and capital – go to waste as well. What’s more, throwing food in landfills releases 4.4 gigatons of CO₂ emissions – more than the industries of plastic, aviation, and oil – accelerating climate change. 

3️⃣ How can you get involved: You can get involved in Stop Food Waste Day by being mindful of the food you waste in your household. To help you out you can download one of the many food-rescuing apps to find engaging and creative ways to save food. You can also get involved by spreading awareness of the harm caused by food waste on your social media channels, 

Below are our favorite charities that are especially relevant for this awareness event:

• 9 Best Charities That Fight to Reduce Food Waste
• 9 Best Charities That Fight Hunger Globally
• 9 Best Charities That Fight Child Hunger
• 9 Best Charities That Help Farmers

If you are looking for additional inspiration, you can find a wide range of charitable causes to support in our charity support blog.

📢 Three Good News

🪟 Innovative new solar glass powers buildings with 50% energy savings:

• A transformative advancement in solar technology allows regular windows to generate electricity while remaining transparent. These innovative solar glass panels absorb invisible ultraviolet and infrared light while letting visible light pass through normally.
• The United States has 5-7 billion square meters of glass surfaces available to harness solar energy, enough to meet 40% of the country’s total electricity needs.
• This development represents a significant step forward in making renewable energy more accessible and integrated into everyday architecture.

🏞️ Rivers gain legal rights in 30 countries, sparking global shift:

• A groundbreaking legal movement recognizes rivers as living entities with fundamental rights, helping protect waterways from pollution and exploitation while ensuring their natural flow.
• Europe has over 1 million barriers fragmenting river flow, making it the continent with the most obstructed river system and only a handful of free-running waterways remaining.
• Starting with New Zealand’s landmark Te Awa Tupua Act in 2017, which declared the Whanganui River as a living being with legal rights, this approach has spread to dozens of countries.

🦇 Rediscovery of rare bats spurs conservation efforts in Rwanda:

• The rediscovery of rare bat species in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park sparks new conservation efforts to protect these crucial ecosystem contributors while safely managing human interactions.
• Bats comprise 40% of Rwanda’s mammal diversity, making their protection vital for maintaining the country’s biodiversity.
• Researchers are now working to map bat roost sites and implement protective measures while addressing public health concerns through scientific approaches rather than elimination efforts.

💬 Discussion of the Week: Reducing Food Waste in Our Daily Lives

Welcome to our new section, where we spark meaningful discussions about everyday topics that can create a real positive impact in our lives!

This week’s discussion topic: How can we reduce food waste in our daily lives?

• What are some simple steps we can take to minimize food waste in your home?
• How do your food shopping and meal planning habits help reduce the amount of food you throw away?
• Are there any organizations or initiatives focused on reducing food waste that you support or would recommend to others?

I’d love to hear your stories and tips, so we can inspire each other to make more sustainable food choices!

For our founding community members, keep the conversation going in our forum here.

Want to join our community when we reopen? Just reply to this email—I’d love to personally add you to our waitlist so you’ll be the first to know all about it 💚

🤝 Three More Important Awareness Events

🦸 April 28, National Superhero Day:

• National Superhero Day is the perfect time to celebrate those caped crusaders and masked marvels that we love to watch and read about, from Elektra to Batman.
• In addition, National Superhero Day is also a great time to celebrate real-life heroes. In fact, many people mark this event by raising funds for charitable causes such as children’s hospitals.

👷 April 28, World Day for Safety and Health at Work:

• Every day, 6,300 people die from occupational accidents or work-related diseases, and more than 317 million people are injured, often resulting in extended absences from work.
• To curb the human and economic burden of unsafe working conditions, organizations observe World Day for Safety and Health at Work to promote safe, healthy, and decent work.

👯 April 29, International Dance Day:

• International Dance Day is an annual celebration of dance that occurs around the world.
• To mark this event, dancers, choreographers, dance enthusiasts, and dance students are encouraged to join in a Gala celebration which often involves dance artists showcasing their talents, as well as dance workshops and a conference to promote the beauty of dance.

Related: You can discover all the 123 most important awareness events (for the month, days, weeks) in our awareness calendar for April 2025!

📜 These Days in History

🎶 April 28, 2003: Electronics company Apple launched the iTunes store, allowing users to purchase and download music from the internet. In 2010, the store sold its 10 billionth song on the platform.

📖 April 28, 1926: Renowned author, Harper Lee, who won national acclaim for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, was born in Monroeville, Alabama.

💒 April 29, 2011: Prince William of Wales, second in line to the British throne, married his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Middleton, in a lavish ceremony broadcast to millions of television viewers.

💭 Quote of the Day

“Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.”

Harper Lee, American author

Share the news with your friends to make a bigger positive impact on the world and society together!

Stay impactful 💚