| Abstract |
The main purpose of this guide is to help interested states and municipalities, as well as interested businesses that deal with food, reduce their solid waste by facilitating the donation of wholesome surplus food to philanthropic feeding organizations. Three important goals can be achieved at the same time: feeding hungry people, saving disposal costs, and protecting the environment. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found that more than one-quarter of all the food produced for human consumption in America is currently discarded. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that discarded food is either the largest or next single largest component (depending on classification) of America's solid waste. The issue of how to reduce such waste is critical. While this guide emphasizes processes in which excess food is recovered to feed hungry people, in a later chapter it will detail a 'food recovery hierarchy' that shows how surplus food can be utilized at several levels. This guide references several previously published materials on three prime ways of handling excess food in an environmentally sound manner: feeding food to livestock or zoo animals, recycling food for industrial purposes, and composting food. Because significant written material on those alternatives already exists, this guide primarily focuses on the top priority in the hierarchy: providing excess food to hungry Americans. It is designed to be a resource guide for how businesses and state and local solid waste management programs can incorporate food recovery programs into their overall waste reduction strategies. The guide describes some of the prominent food recovery activities already taking place and suggests how a business, a state, or a municipality can support existing programs or begin new ones. It also outlines key considerations relating to legal issues and food safety. |
