Mitchell Center Wasted Food Research
Since 2015, when the Mitchell Center Materials Management team was created, wasted food has been the single largest component of Maine’s solid waste stream.
Research shows that ending wasted food and food loss will have major financial, social, and environmental benefits. The Senator George J. Mitchell Center wasted food research seeks to gather data and advance knowledge around Maine wasted food solutions.
Read our original Maine Wasted Food Management Research:
Student and Faculty Research Projects:
Grant-funded, real-world research that seeks to advance knowledge around wasted food solutions.
- Food Waste Reduction (2018/19, DDSF and IURC). PI: Cindy Isenhour
- The Emergent Risks of Food Waste Recovery: Characterizing the Contaminants in Municipal Solid Waste (2018/20, Environmental Research and Education Foundation). PI: Jean MacRae
- Making Maine’s Local Food System Sustainable: Opportunities to Address Hunger and Reduce Waste (2019/20, IURC). PI: Debbie Saber
- Food Waste Management: Empowering Maine Businesses Toward Sustainability (2019/20, Mitchell Center). PI: Susanne Lee
- Increasing Maine Consumer Food Waste Education and Awareness (2020/2022, Maine DEP). PI: Susanne Lee
- Building Maine’s Circular (Zero-Waste) Food System Infrastructure (2021/2022, RRF). PI: Jesse Minor, Susanne Lee
Mitchell Center Wasted Food Research Products
Real-world, research-based products (academic articles, scholarly papers, and public policy) that put wasted food knowledge into action.
Academic Publications
- Saber, D. A., & Silka, L. (2020). Journal of Social Issues, 76(1), 114-122.
- Saber, D. A., Azizi, R., Dreyer, S., Sanford, D., & Nadeau, H. (2022). OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 27(1).
- Thakali, A., & MacRae, J. D. (2021).. Environmental Research, 194, 110635
- Beard-Tisdale, K. (2022). Using Dashboards and Story Maps to Assess Food Waste Issues in Maine. (Submitted to Arc News)
Theses
- DiSpirito, Dominique Danielle. (2022). Honors College. 733.
Reports
- Rivet-Prefontaine, Louis (2025). Unlocking the Economic, Social, and Environmental Benefits of Using Surplus Food in Maine. Food Rescue MAINE, Mitchell Center Research Report
