Princeton NJ Non-Profit Press Releases

Nonprofit Leader Takes NJ Meal Recovery Policy to National Stage at WasteExpo 2025

Hélène Lanctuit to present on scalable food recovery model following testimony before New Jersey Assembly

PRINCETON, NJ – As New Jersey advances legislation to address food waste and food insecurity, Princeton nonprofit leader Hélène Lanctuit will present the state’s innovative approach at WasteExpo 2025, North America’s largest conference focused on sustainability, food recovery, and waste management. Lanctuit is the CEO of Share My Meals and Co-Chair of the Meal Recovery Coalition (MRC), a statewide initiative uniting major employers, food service providers, nonprofits, and government agencies to recover surplus prepared meals and deliver them to communities in need.

On Wednesday, May 7, Lanctuit will speak at the 10th Annual Food Recovery Forum in Las Vegas, highlighting how New Jersey’s meal recovery model is helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase food access, and create scalable public-private infrastructure that can be replicated nationwide. Her presentation, “Making Meal Recovery the Norm through an Innovative, Replicable, and Efficient Model,” will detail the environmental and equity impact of the MRC’s work, the role of technology in ensuring food safety and transparency, and the importance of standardizing meal recovery processes to build trust among food donors.

Lanctuit’s national platform appearance follows her April 23 testimony before the New Jersey Assembly’s Environment and Solid Waste Committee, where she advocated for three key pieces of legislation: the County Food Recovery Planning Act (S2426), Standardized Food Date Labeling (S200/A1418), and the Campus Food Waste Reduction Act (S3889/A5387). Her testimony highlighted the potential for meal recovery to drive policy-aligned, cost-effective outcomes. “Every $1 New Jersey invests in meal recovery returns $14 in public benefit—from avoided landfill and healthcare costs to reduced emissions and improved food access,” Lanctuit told lawmakers.

Each year, more than 5 million prepared meals are discarded in New Jersey’s large institutions—despite being safe, untouched, and fully edible. Since launching in 2024, the Meal Recovery Coalition has recovered over 290,000 meals, prevented 1.6 million pounds of CO? emissions, and built infrastructure to scale to 1 million meals annually by 2026. The MRC’s model focuses on capturing fully prepared, unserved meals from institutions like corporate cafeterias, hospitals, and universities—creating an additional food stream that complements, rather than competes with, traditional food banks.

The coalition’s founding partners include Campbell’s, Sanofi, Capital Health, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Novo Nordisk, and Dartcor Food Services, working alongside volunteers and nonprofit partners throughout the state. Together, they are helping to standardize recovery protocols, raise awareness of prepared meal donation as a food security strategy, and build a replicable model for other states and cities across the country.

“Standardization is key to building trust with food waste generators,” said Lanctuit. “When organizations know there are clear, consistent, and efficient processes in place to recover surplus prepared meals safely, they are far more willing to participate. That trust unlocks the potential for meal recovery to become a widespread, reliable solution to both food waste and food insecurity.”

Held May 5–8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, WasteExpo 2025 will feature high-profile sessions on methane emissions, food waste financing, and emerging technologies in food waste prevention and recovery. Lanctuit’s session will contribute to the growing national conversation around climate-smart food systems and equitable waste reduction, drawing interest from policymakers, food industry leaders, and ESG strategists seeking practical, measurable solutions.

About Share My Meals & the Meal Recovery Coalition

Share My Meals is a New Jersey-based nonprofit dedicated to reducing food waste and fighting food insecurity through innovative meal recovery solutions. In 2024, Share My Meals launched the Meal Recovery Coalition (MRC) to scale meal recovery across the state and develop a replicable national model.

For more information, visit:
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