On September 29, 2026, the Ministry of the Environment announced the winners of the fiscal year 2026 “Food Loss Reduction Promotion Awards,” jointly solicited with the Consumer Affairs Agency. The awards recognize exemplary initiatives that effectively reduce food loss and have strong potential to create ripple effects, with the two agencies collaborating to honor such efforts and promote food loss reduction as a national movement. This marks the fifth joint awards ceremony held by the two agencies.
This round received a total of 60 applications during the submission period from May 29 to July 31, 2026. Following deliberation by the review committee, 17 initiatives were selected. The breakdown includes: one Minister of the Environment Award, one Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Award, two Vice-Minister of the Environment Awards, two Commissioner of the Consumer Affairs Agency Awards, two Deputy Commissioner of the Consumer Affairs Agency Awards, four Food Loss Reduction Promotion Awards Review Committee Chair Awards, and five Review Committee Special Awards.
The Minister of the Environment Award went to the Fukuoka City School Lunch Public Corporation (a public interest incorporated foundation) for its initiative “Reducing Food Loss from Class and School Closures (Disposal of Unused Ingredients)! Selling Bread to Citizens!” The corporation implements various food loss countermeasures for school lunches, including menu adjustments and donations to food banks. However, when class or school-wide closures suddenly made it impossible to serve school lunch bread, the bread—which is difficult to stop producing on short notice and has a short shelf life—previously had no choice but to be discarded. To address this, the corporation partnered with the city and bread manufacturers to obtain sales permits, enabling same-day sales of the collected bread to citizens. The bread is packaged in bags containing multiple pieces, labeled with ingredients and expiration dates, and sold for 100 yen per bag (as of September 2026). Proceeds go toward covering ingredient costs, helping reduce the financial burden on the city budget. Between fiscal years 2021 and 2025, the corporation held 325 sales events, preventing the disposal of approximately 245,000 pieces of bread. In addition to this track record, the judges highly valued the initiative’s potential for replication in other regions.
The Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Award went to the NPO Japan Harvest for its “Food Loss Reduction, Food Education, and Regional Circulation Model Delivering Freshly Baked Bread and Refrigerated Foods Same-Day.” The organization bases its activities on the concept of “food rescue,” widely practiced in Europe and the United States. Partnering with food businesses, hotels, farmers, and retailers, the organization has built a system for same-day collection and delivery—without going through warehouses—of freshly baked bread, vegetables and fruits, and refrigerated foods such as milk and natto (fermented soybeans). This has enabled effective use of fresh and refrigerated foods that previously tended to become food loss. The organization also delivered food donated by overseas pavilions at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai to local communities. Furthermore, through its “Eco Kitchen” program, where children experience cooking firsthand, the organization integrates food loss reduction with food education. The judges highly valued the organization’s track record of contribution to food loss reduction and its sustained continuity.
The Commissioner of the Consumer Affairs Agency Award went to the food loss reduction platform “WeSupport Family” and Lawson, Inc. for its “FOOD GOOD SMILE” initiative. WeSupport Family delivers surplus food and disaster stockpiles from companies to households in need through support organizations, and has redistributed a cumulative total of over 800 tons of food since launching in December 2021. Lawson has introduced AI-based dynamic pricing and automated ordering systems at approximately 14,000 stores nationwide, simultaneously achieving waste reduction and food assistance.
The Vice-Minister of the Environment Award went to FamilyMart Co., Ltd. and Ichinobo Co., Ltd. FamilyMart replaced its discount stickers for prepared foods nearing expiration with “teary-eyed” stickers, achieving a reduction of approximately 2,500 tons of food loss within one year of introduction. Ichinobo introduced an “order buffet” system at three hot spring resorts, cooking only what is ordered, achieving an approximately 36% reduction in food loss.
Additionally, the Deputy Commissioner of the Consumer Affairs Agency Award was given to Yoshikei Group and Losshel. The Review Committee Chair Award went to four recipients: the Japan Foodbank Federation (a public interest incorporated foundation), Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc., Nohmi Bosai Ltd., and Okayama University (a national university corporation). The Review Committee Special Award was given to five recipients: the Edogawa Gakuen Toride Junior and Senior High School Cooking Club, Foodbank Saicho, the Food Drying Team of the Food Science Department at Gifu Prefectural Gifu Agriculture and Forestry High School, the “Making Yuzu Culture Again” Project, and Panasonic Corporation.
In their commentary, the Review Committee Chair noted the growing diversity of food loss reduction initiatives. Beyond quantitative results, the chair observed that evaluation criteria are expanding to include factors such as broader social impact, collaboration with diverse stakeholders, and potential for future development. At the same time, the chair noted that some cases lacked sufficient data demonstrating objective, quantitative outcomes, and expressed hope that future applicants would find ways to provide more objective supporting evidence.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held as part of the program for the “National Food Loss Reduction Convention in Nasushiobara,” taking place in Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture, on October 30, 2026. The Ministry of the Environment stated that details of the winning initiatives will be posted on the Food Loss Portal Site at a later date.
【Reference】Announcement of Winners of the Fiscal Year 2026 “Food Loss Reduction Promotion Awards”
【Reference】Fiscal Year 2026 Food Loss Reduction Promotion Awards: Overview of Winning Initiatives
【Reference】Fiscal Year 2026 Food Loss Reduction Promotion Awards: Commentary from the Review Committee Chair
【Related article】A Third Option for Food Loss: Too Good To Go, the Food Waste Reduction App Now in Japan, Takes on Food Redistribution and Prevention at the Source
【Related article】Rethinking EPR for Fresh Produce Packaging: U.S. International Fresh Produce Association Raises Concerns Over Rising Food Loss
