Food Donation and Food Waste SurveyWebinar: February 14, 1pm EST

40%World’s Land

120 Billion PoundsFood Waste

1/3Greenhouse Gases

70%World’s Water

Food’s Big Impact

40% for Ethanol

2 BillionNew Consumers

Rapidly Increasing Demand for Resources

RisingMiddle Class

Post Harvest Food Waste In the United States

Disposal = 80 billion lbsDiversion = 40 billion lbs

Total Generation =

120 billion lbs

Total Food Waste Disposed by Sector

US Food Waste Disposal Data

GroceryStores11%

Full ServiceRestaurants

20%

Quick ServiceRestaurants

13%

Institutional10%

Residential44%

Industrial2%20% - 40% of

all food grown and processed

Food Weight(US Tons)

N/A

550,000

13,187,555

3,300,000

4,043,489

21,081,044

39,686,955

Total Diversion

Total Disposal

60,767,998Total Generation

Food Waste Diversion

Better Use for Food Waste

6

Food Waste Disposal

Source ReductionSource ReductionReduce the volume of food waste generatedReduce the volume of food waste generated

Feed Hungry PeopleFeed Hungry PeopleDonate extra food to food banks, soup kitchens and sheltersDonate extra food to food banks, soup kitchens and shelters

Feed AnimalsFeed AnimalsDivert food scraps to animal feedDivert food scraps to animal feed

Industrial UsesIndustrial UsesProvide waste oils for rendering and fuel Provide waste oils for rendering and fuel

conversion; and food scraps for digestion to conversion; and food scraps for digestion to recover energyrecover energy

CompostingCompostingCreate a nutrient-rich Create a nutrient-rich

soil amendmentsoil amendment

Landfill/Landfill/IncinerationIncineration

Last resort Last resort for disposalfor disposal

Food Waste Recovery Hierarchy

• Cross-Industry effort

• 2 Goals

FMI/GMA/NRA Food Waste Mitigation Coalition

Food Waste Opportunities & Challenges

Reduce Reduce Food Waste Food Waste to Landfillto Landfill

Increase Increase Food to Food to

Food BanksFood Banks

• Phase III Assessment – Industry Survey• Example questions:

– How much unsalable food does your company donate each year?

– How much food waste does your company recover for recycling or reuse each year?

– How much food waste does your company send to the landfill each year?

• Timing: February - distribution March - completion

The Business CaseParticipation in the Food Coalition’s food waste survey will help us all:

•Avoid future regulation•Avoid future risk•Avoid negative press•Get ahead of the curve•Save money

Food Donation and Food Waste Survey

• Purpose:• To gauge where our industry is today• To raise awareness and promote improved measurement• To demonstrate progress each year

• Confidentiality:• Surveys submitted to third party (NDA in place)•The data will be aggregated and all identifying information removed before it is provided to FMI, GMA and NRA

•Questions:•General Information?•How much food is donated?•How much food is recycled?•How much food is thrown away?•How much solid waste is generated?

• Inventory management systems may be great for some

things, but not others.• Look for a way to double check your data and when

results do not agree, decide which method is likely to give the most accurate answer.

• Sometimes the best you can do is take a very limited data set and apply it across the entire enterprise.

• As you gather data, look for ways to improve existing processes and data management tools. Set reasonable expectations for improvement. The expectation should be to improve accuracy and reporting each year, not to be done by next year.

Learning's

Q: How do I account for food products that go down the drain?

A: All food products that go to the sanitary sewer as part of the normal cleaning cycle are not counted as disposed. However, food byproducts that are containerized prior to being released to the sanitary sewer or transported to a wastewater treatment plant are counted as disposed. The same is true for finished food products that is poured down the drain.

Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers

Q: If I have a wastewater pretreatment process at my manufacturing operation, do I count the solids generated by that process as solid waste or food waste?

A: It is unlikely that these solids will significantly impact your survey results. Since food products that go to the sanitary sewer generally go uncounted, it is recommended that you do not count the solids regardless of whether they are disposed or recycled.

Questions and Answers

Q: Does construction debris count towards my total solid waste number?

A: Sometimes. If you are remodeling or building onto an existing operation that is owned by you, the construction wastes should count. If you are the tenant of a leased space, do not count construction debris generated by construction of the building you occupy, but do count wastes generated as you finish or remodel the interior space you are leasing.(note: do not be concerned if you do not have any data regarding construction debris sent to the landfill, but please consider measuring it in the future so that you can include it in future surveys)

Questions and Answers

Q: How do I account for bottled water and other beverages that have little or no nutritional value?

A: We are interested in hearing whether survey respondents think these beverages should be counted as food. We realize that significant resources go into producing these items, but for now please do not count them as food.

Q: How do I account for pet food?

A: Please do not include pet food in your survey response, only food produced for human consumption.

Contacts and Follow Up

Jeanne von Zastrow,FMI Senior Director of Sustainability & Industry RelationsPH:(435) 259-3342Email: jvonzastrow@fmi.org

Laura Abshire,NRA Director of Sustainability Policy and Gov. AffairsPH:(202) 973-5380Email: labshire@restauarant.org

Matt Foley,GMA Manager Federal AffairsPH:(202) 639-5937Email: mfoley@gmaonline.org