Food Donation Requirements

To reduce unnecessary food waste and help address food insecurity, SB 1383 requires the state of California recover and redistribute 20 percent of edible food that would have otherwise been sent to landfills by 2025.

WHAT IS EDIBLE FOOD?

Edible food is food intended for people to eat, including food not sold because of appearance, age, freshness, grade, surplus, etc. Edible food includes, but is not limited to:

• Prepared foods
• Packaged foods
• Produce

All edible food must meet the food safety requirements of the current California Retail Food Code.

WHO MUST DONATE FOOD?

SB 1383 requires certain businesses that are defined as either a “Tier 1” or “Tier 2” edible food generators to recover edible food and make formal arrangements for items to be donated to organizations that will distribute food to food insecure individuals and families in the community.

Commercial Edible Food Generators

What does Tier1 and Tier 2 mean?

Tier 1 Generators: These entities are required to recover the maximum amount of edible food that otherwise would have been disposed of by January 1, 2022, and include:

• Grocery Stores
• Supermarkets
• Food Service Providers
• Food Distributors
• Wholesale Food Vendors

Tier 2 Generators: These entities are required to recover the maximum amount of edible food that otherwise would have been disposed of by January 1, 2024, and include:

• Restaurants with 250 or more seats or greater than 5,000 square feet of facility space
• Hotels with on-site food facilities and 200 or more rooms
• Health facility with on-site food facility and 100 or more beds
• Large venues
• Large events
• State agencies with a cafeteria with 250 or more seats or greater than 5,000 square feet of cafeteria space
• Local education agencies with on-site food facility

More information about donations required by Tier 1 and Tier 2 generators can be found on CalRecycle’s website.

WHAT DOES MY BUSINESS NEED TO DO?

If your business meets the criteria of a Tier 1 edible food generator, it is required to have in place an edible food recovery program on or before January 1, 2022. If your business is Tier 2 edible food generator, it is required to have in place an edible food recovery program on or before January 1, 2024.

SB 1383 does not require all excess edible food to be donated. It does, however, require your business to do the following:

• Edible food generators shall not intentionally spoil edible food that is capable of being recovered by a food recovery organization or service.
• Edible food generators are allowed to give away excess food to employees, take it home for personal use, give it away to customers, etc.
• Edible food generators must recover (for human consumption) the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise be disposed of. This can be accomplished by donating or paying for the food to be recovered by a food recovery organization or service, which includes, but is not limited to food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, for-profit food recovery services, and other non-profits that distribute food to people in need.

STEPS TO MEET COMPLIANCE & REPORTING REQUIREMENTS?

1. Enroll in the Rancho Mirage Edible Food Recovery Program. The City has partnered with Find Food Bank to provide all Rancho Mirage businesses no cost donation agreements, donation collection and scheduling, tracking donation types and weights and to provide reporting to the City on your behalf. Compliance made EASY! Don’t want to work with FIND? You can still enroll and create your own unique donation program with the food recovery agency of your choice and provide reporting to the City directly.
2. If you opt to create your own program- your business must provide a contract or written agreement to enroll. Your business must have a contract in place with each food recovery organization and/or service it works with. If your business does not have a contract or written agreement in place, the organization or service that your business donates its food to may be able to assist you in setting one up.
3. Maintain records of your business’s food donation program per state and local regulation. In 2022 and beyond, state, and local law requires the city to monitor compliance by performing annual inspections to review the following records by your business:

• • Contract or written agreement information for food recovery services
  • Schedules for food recovery deliveries or collections
  • Quantity of food recovered in pounds per month
  • Types of food each food recovery organization will receive or collect

Learn more about the Rancho Mirage Edible Food Recovery Program