2025 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

Andrea Collins is a Senior Specialist for Sustainable Food Systems at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), where she shapes policy, conducts research, and designs public education campaigns to reduce food waste and promote food equity. Andrea leads advocacy efforts for federal, state, and local initiatives that prevent food waste, redirect surplus food to the community, and support the recycling of food scraps. Her work has included impactful policy engagement, including passing California's AB 660 to standardize food date labels. Andrea is also the lead author of Feeding a City: Food Waste and Food Need Across America, which analyzes trends across 20 U.S. cities and offers strategic recommendations for local action. She helped shape national discourse as manager and strategist of SaveTheFood.com, a public service campaign aimed at elevating awareness and driving consumer behavior change on household food waste. Andrea is a co-chair of the Zero Food Waste Coalition State Policy Working Group.

Her collaborative approach and deep understanding of food system solutions makes her a trusted resource in the movement for a more sustainable and equitable food future. Andrea holds a bachelor’s degree in peace and conflict studies from the University of California, Berkeley and is based in NRDC’s San Francisco office. Read more about her work at https://www.nrdc.org/bio/andrea-collins