Food Recovery Programs
Food recovery programs can take many forms. Some of the more common types are farm gleaning, perishable and prepared food rescue programs, and non-perishable food collection.
- Farm Gleaning: the gathering of crops from farmers' fields that have already been mechanically harvested or from fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest
- Perishable & Prepared Food: collecting unused produce from wholesale and retail sources, and unused prepared foods from the food service industry
- Non-perishable Food: collecting canned goods and other food items with long shelf lives
Most food recovery programs are based on the following hierarchy:
- Source Reduction - first reduce the production of excess food items
- Feed People - use excess food to first feed people in need
- Feed Animals - then use the excess as livestock feed, where appropriate
- Industrial Uses - then use excess food material for fuel, raw materials, and other industrial uses
- Composting - lastly, keep unused excess food out of landfills through composting efforts
Some key issues identified by a US Department study of such programs include:
- Recruitment of potential donors must be one of the first tasks accomplished
- No gleaning project can operate without effective local partnerships (NPOs, food donors, Farm Service Agency, State Dept of Agriculture, transport partners)
- Address liability issues with donors (Emerson Food Donation Act and State statutes)
- Anticipate questions from farmers (containers, picking procedures, scheduling)
- Know state and local Health Dept restrictions (handling, storing, etc)
- Don't compete with existing recovery efforts (food banks, etc)
- Make pick-up as simple for donors as possible (transportation, schedule, labor)
- Establish a firm partnership with a local food bank for distribution
- Obtain containers early in the development of the program
- Finding a partner with shipping capabilities greatly reduces costs
- Media coverage is crucial for awareness and could lead to greater food recovery
- Recruit volunteers (partner members, media, food recipients, correctional facilities)
RATIONALE
Food leftovers are the single-largest component of the waste stream by weight in the United States. Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food they prepare. About 96 billion pounds of food are wasted each year. The nation spends an additional one billion dollars annually to dispose of food waste.
Reusing and recycling excess food saves money by reducing disposal fees. By separating food waste, businesses can inventory the excess food they are creating and then implement source reduction practices to save money.
In 2007, almost 12.5 percent of the total municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in American households was food scraps and less than three percent was recovered. The rest was thrown away and disposed in landfills or combusted in incinerators.
EFFORT REQUIRED
The effort required will largely depend on the local partners and donors that are willing to be a part of the program. Non-profits could potentially run the entire program with oversight from related government departments.
BENEFIT
The decomposition of food and other waste under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is 21x more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfills are the largest human-related source of methane in the United States, accounting for 34% of all methane emissions. Recovery (i.e. food donations) and recycling (i.e., composting) diverts organic materials from landfills and incinerators, thereby reducing GHG emissions from landfills and waste combustion.
RISKS
Emerson Food Donation Act that establishes minimum standard Federal policy about liability and immunity in every State, and the particular State statutes that may provide additional protection for donors and gleaners involved in food recovery programs.
ACTION AGENT(S)
- Agriculture Department
- Environmental Management Department
- Solid Waste Mgmt Department
COST
Commercial food waste generators may economically benefit the most from diverting their unwanted food to beneficial uses. This is especially true if haulers offer reduced rates for collection of segregated organic materials. Local and national food recovery programs frequently offer free pick-up and provide reusable containers to donors. By reducing the number of trash pickups, costs tend to go down.
Residential households can also directly save money if they pay their haulers variable rates for trash (pay-as-you-throw). While haulers include the cost of organics collection in the rates they charge their customers, from the residential customer perspective, recycling and organics collection come free of charge.
Waste disposal sites for solid waste from human activities.A mixture of decayed plants and other organic material that is used to enrich soil with nutrients.The collection, reprocessing, marketing, and use of materials that were diverted or recovered from the solid waste stream.The overall flow of waste from consumers to a landfill, incinerator, or other disposal site.Greenhouse gases are a part of the Earth's atmosphere and are both naturally occurring and the result of human chemical processes. The most common greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and chlorofluourocarbons. These gases trap heat and thus contribute to the warming of the planet. See also CFCS and GREENHOUSE EFFECT.
