2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit

Jay Hawkins is the Director of Food Recovery Programs at Feeding New York State. Since 2022, Jay has spearheaded the development of a comprehensive food recovery program aligned with New York’s Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law—empowering a network of 10 member food banks and more than 4,000 partner agencies. Under his leadership, the program has successfully diverted over 90 million pounds of food from landfills, redirecting it to communities across the state and putting meals on the tables of New Yorkers in need—while simultaneously advancing environmental sustainability.

With a strong foundation in the food industry, Jay brings a systems-level approach to solving complex challenges at the intersection of hunger relief and waste reduction. He has built cross-sector partnerships that unite food banks, businesses, and food donors around a shared vision: a hunger-free, more sustainable New York State.