Edible Food Recovery Organizations
To reduce food waste and help address food insecurity, SB 1383 requires that California recover 20 percent of edible food that would otherwise be sent to landfills, to feed people and communities in need.
SB 1383 requires mandated edible food generators (such as grocery stores, food distributors, wholesale vendors, and schools) to donate their excess edible food to a local food recovery organization or service, which includes, but is not limited to – food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, food runners, other non-profits that distribute food to people in need, and for-profit food recovery services.
There are other resources and applications such as Careit, GoCopia, DivertInc, FoodHero, Replate, Too Good To Go, and Flashfood that can assist your edible food organization or service with connecting with edible food generators and other local businesses or institutions looking to donate surplus food directly to you. Not all resources may be available within Kern County.
Commercial edible food generators are required to donate recoverable, edible food. Any edible food recovery organization or service, like yours, that receives food donations from a food generator must maintain the following records and make records available for inspection:
Recordkeeping Requirements – Food recovery organizations and services that have a contract or written agreement with a mandated food donor will be required to maintain records of the food they receive from each mandated food donor. CalRecycle has developed a model recordkeeping tool that food recovery organizations and services can use to ensure compliance with the recordkeeping requirements. The use of this specific tools is optional.
Total Pounds Collected – Food recovery organizations and services that participate in SB 1383 must also report the total pounds collected in the previous calendar year to the jurisdiction where their primary address is physically located.
For additional information, please visit CalRecycle’s Food Recovery Organizations and Services or contact Kern County at organics@v-lanterna.com.