New York tackles food waste, climate crisis in new programme

New York is among a growing number of states targeting food waste over concerns it is taking up diminishing landfill space and contributing to global warming as meat, vegetables and dairy release the greenhouse gas methane after being dumped in a landfill.

Rescuing unwanted fruits and vegetables, eggs, cereals and other food also helps to feed hungry families.

When Sean Rafferty got his start in the grocery business, anything that wasn't sold got tossed out.

But on a recent day, Rafferty, the store manager for ShopRite of Elmsford-Greenburgh in New York, was preparing boxes of bread, doughnuts, fresh produce and dairy products to be picked up by a food bank.

It's part of a statewide programme requiring larger businesses to donate edible food and, if they can, recycle remaining food scraps.

“Years ago, everything went in the garbage ... to the landfills, the compactors or wherever it was,” said Rafferty, who has 40 years in the industry.

“Now, over the years, so many programmes have developed where we’re able to donate all this food ... where we’re helping people with food insecurities.”

Globally, about a third of food is wasted. In the United States, it's even higher, at 40 percent, according to the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic.

The United States spends about $218 billion each year growing and producing food that is wasted. About 57 metric tonnes go to waste, including 47.5 metric tonnes that end up in landfills and 9 metric tonnes never harvested from farms.

“What’s shocking to people often is not only how much we waste ... but also the impact," said Emily Broad Leib, a Harvard University law professor and director of the school's Food Law and Policy Clinic.

"Food waste causes about 8 percent to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.”

Impactful measures

In 2015, the US Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency announced a goal of 50 percent food waste reduction by 2030.

Ten states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation or executed policies to reduce, compost or donate waste. All 50 states have passed legislation shielding donors and recovery organisations from criminal and civil liability linked to donated food.

New York's programme is in its second year, and state officials believe it's having a significant impact.

As of late October, the programme had redistributed 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 is hoping to double that number next year.

Among those required to donate food include colleges, prisons, amusement parks and sporting venues.

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

The group started working with businesses in 2014 but has seen participation ramp up since the donation law went into effect last year.

Much of the food collected goes to nearly 300 programmes and partners throughout the county, including a mobile food pantry and the Carver Center, a nonprofit serving Port Chester's families and children, which has a pantry.