Compass Group Joins Food System Leaders at the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

More than 650 leaders from across the food system gathered last week in Charlotte, NC, home to Compass Group USA, for the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit. The event brought together organizations across industry, nonprofit, government, and academia to share ideas, challenges, and solutions for addressing food waste at scale.

For Compass Group, the week was an opportunity to learn alongside peers, connect in person with partners, and contribute perspectives from across our sectors and operations.

Pre-conference events kicked off with U.S. Food Waste Pact convenings, workshops, and discussions focused on supplier engagement, foodservice collaboration, and opportunities to advance progress together. Throughout the week, our teams connected with partners from WWF, ReFED, food recovery organizations, fellow Pact signatories, and others working to reduce waste across the food system.

A major theme throughout the Summit was ReFED’s role in creating a “big tent” for collaboration, bringing everyone from foodservice, retail, and manufacturing to nonprofits, startups, and policymakers together to share ideas and accelerate solutions. As Dana Gunders, President of ReFED, shared during her opening keynote, this moment presents an opportunity for “The Great Food System Redesign” and a chance to “design waste out of the food system.”

Compass Group was proud to have 20 associates representing teams across our sectors participating in conversations throughout the week, including field trips, workshops, panels, and mentoring sessions.

During the Summit:

Gurbir Perhar, SVP of Compass Data & AI, joined the main stage session to discuss how data and technology can help organizations make better operational decisions to reduce waste. One message that resonated throughout the session: “Measuring waste was the first step. Compass is learning to prevent it.”

Gwyneth Rampton, VP of Sustainability, participated in the “Cutting Through the Clutter” breakout presentation, sharing insights from Stop Food Waste Day and what Compass Group has learned about engaging consumers around food waste reduction. She also participated in a workshop for the upcoming “Ending Wasted Food Within a Generation” national consumer engagement campaign and served as a mentor during ReFED’s Wildcard Speed Mentoring session.

Three of the available field trips on the Summit agenda visited Charlotte-area Compass Group operations to learn how food waste prevention, tracking, donation, and diversion strategies are being implemented in different foodservice environments. Attendees walked through kitchens and operations to see first-hand how to operationalize waste tracking at scale, strengthen food donation programs, expand composting and circular solutions, and engage frontline associates and consumers in reducing waste every day.

The Summit also created space for valuable conversations across Compass Group teams, from sectors and Foodbuy to Compass Digital and Corporate Sustainability, bringing together different perspectives on how we drive change through operations, education, and collaboration.

And of course, the Compass booth in the exhibition hall became a great place to chat with collaborators and other waste warriors, new and existing. The Waste Not salts, created with leftover dehydrated vegetables, pulled from our Stop Food Waste Day cookbook, were such a hit that we gave out every single one!

We’re grateful to ReFED for convening another impactful Summit and for continuing to provide the research, insights, and collaboration that help move this work forward across the industry.

We’re already looking forward to next year in Chicago!