Tackling climate change and alleviating hunger: States recycle and donate food headed to landfills

ELMSFORD, N.Y. — When Sean Rafferty started in the grocery business, anything that didn’t sell was thrown away.

But recently, Rafferty, the store manager of ShopRite of Elmsford-Greenburgh in New York, was preparing boxes of bread, donuts, fresh produce and dairy products for a food bank. It’s part of a nationwide program that requires larger companies to donate edible food and, if they can, recycle leftover food scraps.

“Years ago, everything went in the trash…to the landfills, the compactors or wherever it was,” says Rafferty, who has been in the industry for 40 years. “Now there have been so many programs developed over the years where we can donate all this food… where we help people with food insecurity.”

New York is among a growing number of states tackling food waste because they worry it is taking up less and less space in landfills and contributing to global warming because meat, vegetables and dairy products release the greenhouse gas methane after being consumed. have been dumped in a landfill. Saving unwanted fruits and vegetables, eggs, grains and other foods also helps feed hungry families.

Globally, about a third of food is wasted. In the United States it is even higher, at 40%, according to the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic. The US spends approximately $218 billion each year growing and producing food that is wasted. About 63 tons (57 tons) are lost, with 52.4 tons (47.5 tons) ending up in landfills and 10 tons (9 tons) never harvested from farms.

“What’s often shocking to people is not just how much we waste … but also the impact,” says Emily Broad Leib, a professor of law at Harvard University and director of the school’s Food Law and Policy Clinic. “Food waste causes approximately 8% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.”

Broad Leib says that 20% of the water in the US is used to grow food “which we then just throw away, so we’re essentially taking water straight into a landfill.”

But she and others also note that there is growing awareness in the U.S. of the need to do something about food waste

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency announced a goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030.

That has led to a number of state-led initiatives, along with smaller nonprofit efforts.

Ten states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation or policies to reduce, compost or donate waste. All fifty states have passed legislation protecting donors and recovery organizations from criminal and civil liability related to donated food.

California and Vermont have launched programs to convert residents’ food waste into compost or energy, while Connecticut requires businesses, including larger food wholesalers and supermarkets, to recycle food waste. Maryland farmers can receive a tax credit of up to $5,000 per farm for the food they donate.

Several states have joined New York in setting up food donation systems. Rhode Island requires food vendors serving educational institutions to donate all unused food to food banks, while Massachusetts limits the amount of food businesses can send to landfills, which has increased food donations in the state by 22% in two years, according to Broad Leib.

New York’s program is in its second year and government officials believe it is having a significant impact.

By the end of October, the program had redistributed 5 million pounds (2.3 million kilograms) of food — the equivalent of 4 million meals — through Feeding New York State, which supports the state’s 10 regional food banks and hopes to double that number next year. . Those required to donate food include colleges, prisons, amusement parks and sports venues.

“Certainly, we should reduce the amount we waste to begin with, but then we need to feed people before we throw away food if it’s good, healthy food,” said Sally Rowland, supervisor at the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Organics , Reduction. and recycling section. “To me it’s a matter of common sense and I think it’s just kind of given impetus to people understanding how much food we’re really wasting.”

New York’s Westchester County has eight refrigerated trucks that pick up all types of perishable food, said Danielle Vasquez, food donation coordinator for Feeding Westchester, one of the state’s food banks.

The group began working with companies in 2014, but has seen participation increase since the donation law came into effect last year. Much of the food collected goes to nearly 300 programs and partners across the county, including a mobile food bank and the Carver Center, a nonprofit organization that serves Port Chester’s families and children and operates a food pantry.

“This time of year is very important to us and to many families in Westchester,” Vasquez said. “There are high food costs. There are high costs of living. Westchester is a very expensive county to live in. … We’re here to supplement our families as much as we can so they can put that money toward paying their bills.”

Among those who visited the Carver Center earlier this month was Betsy Quiroa, who lamented the increase in the cost of everything since the coronavirus pandemic. She expected to get milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables during her visit and said she didn’t care if the products were dented or slightly damaged.

“It’s good to come here,” said Quiroa, a mother of four who relies on social security. “If you don’t work, you don’t buy anything. This is the problem.”

Despite New York’s success, food waste advocates are concerned that not enough is being done to meet the 2030 target. Broad Leib and others have called for a national effort to coordinate various state and local policies.

There is a goal, “but we don’t really have a great roadmap … and how we’re actually going to get to that end goal by 2030, which is kind of crazy,” Broad Leib said, adding that a one-person liaison office in the USDA is not sufficient to address the problem.

Kathryn Bender, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Delaware, said donation programs are helpful, but she worries they could shift the burden from corporations to nonprofits, which could struggle to distribute all the food.

“The best solution for food waste is not to have it in the first place,” says Bender. “If we don’t have to produce all that food, then let’s not put all the resources into producing that food.”

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Casey reported from Boston.