Apeel, a food science start-up, makes natural coatings that extend the shelf-life of food avocados and lemons. Nearly 25 percent of fruits and vegetables are lost globally, and North America is among the global regions with the highest level of food waste. The company has raised $30 million in new funding to help small scale farms waste less and get more of their crops to market. It has also introduced a wider variety of crop coatings. 

The new investors include heavy hitters such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group, Andreessen Horowitz, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. 

Reducing food waste has become an even more critical issue due to the pandemic. For many Americans, access to food has become challenging. 

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