Meal Equivalents

Definition:

The Meal Equivalents for a solution is the estimated number of meals that would be eaten by people instead of wasted or recycled (e.g., composted, fed to animals) if a particular solution was fully implemented.

Master Meal Equivalents Equation (for Prevention and Donation solutions only):

Meal Equivalents = Solution Diversion Potential Tons / 1.2 lbs per meal / 2,000 lbs per ton

In ReFED’s data model, the following calculations are repeated for every sector, state, and food type before any aggregation is done.

Table 5. Calculations Performed to Estimate Water Savings Potential of U.S. Food Waste Solutions

DATA ITEM	DATA SOURCE OR CALCULATION	EXAMPLE
Annual Solution Diversion Potential	See Diversion Potential calculations above.	ReFED estimates that ‘Donation Storage Handling & Capacity’ could divert 93.35 tons of Prepared Foods Catering Overproduction annually in the Florida Limited Service Restaurants Mexican Foodservice sector.
Meal Equivalents	For Prevention and Donation solutions: = Solution Diversion Potential (Annual Tons) * 2,000 lbs per ton / 1.2 lbs per meal[__citation_Feeding_America_Dollar_donations__] For Recycling solutions: = 0 Because recycling food (composting, animal feed, etc.) won’t lead to meals for people.	= 93.35 tons diverted * 2,000 lbs per ton / 1.2 lbs per meal = 155,583 meal equivalents Reminder: This example calculation is not the total meal equivalents for the solution. These calculations were repeated for every sector, cause, food type, and state before aggregating and summing the total meal equivalents for each solution.