WHEREAS, food is one of Maine’s most valuable resources and is essential for the health and nutrition of all our 1.3 million residents; and

WHEREAS, nearly 40 percent of food produced in Maine is never eaten – over 361,000 tons annually – primarily ending up in landfills where it produces harmful methane, a greenhouse gas with about 80 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide over a twenty-year timespan; and

WHEREAS, the majority of Maine’s wasted food is safe and nutritious and can be donated to feed the 1 in 7 Maine adults and 1 in 5 Maine children who go hungry; and

WHEREAS, Maine households can save money by preventing wasted food, with the average Maine family spending between $1500 and $3000 annually on food that is thrown away; and

WHEREAS, almost 90 percent of consumers are confused by food date labels causing large amounts of perfectly good Maine food to be thrown away in homes, businesses, and even food pantries; and

WHEREAS, Maine communities can substantially reduce their waste disposal costs by preventing wasted food since food is the single largest municipal solid waste component; and

WHEREAS, Maine K-12 schools have a special role in educating our next generation to reduce, recover, and recycle the estimated 7 million pounds of school food wasted annually; and

WHEREAS, we all can help our farmers, strengthen our local food systems, and conserve our natural resources – water, air, energy, and land – by valuing Maine food and composting food scraps instead of wasting it as trash;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the week of September 29-October 5, 2025 as 

Maine Wasted Food Awareness Week

and I encourage all Maine people to become aware of the wasted food in our homes, schools and all around us, and to commit to stop throwing food away.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this third day of September Two Thousand Twenty-Five