In the Capital Region, organizations and individuals are working hard to combat food waste

The New York State Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law, passed in 2019, went into effect in January 2022. The law requires businesses and institutions that generate an average of two tons of wasted food per week or more to donate excess edible food; and recycle all remaining food scraps if they are within 25 miles of an organics recycler. There are two major goals: divert food from landfills and feed hungry New Yorkers.

In New York it is estimated 7.8 billion pounds of food is going to waste each year, creating more greenhouse gasses than four million passengers cars driven for a year. When wasted food rots in landfills, methane, a greenhouse gas up to 80 times more potent than CO2 is released.

Feeding New York State has a team working on this opportunity. Our team implemented a food donation assistance call center to maximize results of the law. Our Food Rescue Manager, Jay Hawkins, is conducting on site visits, providing technical assistance, educational materials, and helping to connect food generators to food banks and food programs that fit their needs best. This program is funded by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and Feeding America.

With a mix of social media and targeted outreach, generators were given reminders to prepare for the laws implementation and to ensure readiness.

The work is already yielding results. 260,000 pounds of edible food have been donated from October ’21 – January ’22. 69 new generators have begun donating, and 28 donors have enhanced their relationships with the food banks. A noticeably improved partnership between Generators and Sourcers at food banks is already being seen. Food banks are beginning to allocate more resources to support food rescue/retail recovery as donations increase. Data collected will help identify where there are opportunities, and where the challenges lie.

Feeding New York State hopes to source 37 million pounds of food over 3 years and divert additional pounds away from landfills.

For more information about Feeding New York State and/or how to start a food donation program, visit feedingnys.org or call 518-970-3000 between the hours of 8:30-5 Monday through Friday.