urban surplus food recovery model
TRANSCRIPT
U.S. EPA Food Recovery Challenge
Urban Surplus Food Recovery Model
Divert food waste – seeking a Hunger-Free Community
04/13/2023U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1
USA Food Waste in the Big Picture
FAC
~110,000 cuft
USA sent 70 billion pounds of food to landfills
in 2011
How many times would that amount of food fill
the FAC
?
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Fill the FAC once every 5.5
minutes
Pilot project in Philadelphia to capture surplus food
Create a food waste prevention method that can be used by any city or town to build a:
Food Secure Community
Geographic-based Targeting
Food Pantries and Cupboards
The Food Gap
2,200,000 pounds needed
160,000 pounds
now
6,300,000 pounds now
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Food Sources: what to expectSector Participation (%) Diversion(tons)Grocers (33) 50 50
Restaurants 10 42(189)
Hotels (4) 30 9
Colleges (6) 60 36
K-12 (13) 20 2
Farmers Markets (5) 25 2
Hospitals (4) 40 19
Households 5 10(17,169)
Totals 341,200 pounds per month or ~ 11,400 pounds per day
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Grocer
Restaurant
Hotel
Colleges
K-12
Farmers Mkts
Hospitals
Households
Approach and Key Elements• Community economic organization lead• Lots of surplus food sources• Existing “green” initiatives and infrastructure• Food rescue and distribution• Lots and lots of community partners• All-in attitude• Build on the EPA Food Recovery Challenge
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Current Eventshttp://universitycity.org/university-city-food-recycling-project
Goals and Status• Double residential
composting – currently up 40%
• Increase first year donations by 50,000 pounds – working with12 new sources
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Food Recovery Challenge Contacts at USEPA, Region 3, Philadelphia
1. Tom O’Donnell, 215-814-2874, [email protected]
2. Luke Wolfgang, 215-814-2913, [email protected]