Non-profits and Local Governments are Fighting Climate Change One Food Scrap at a Time

Food scraps rotting in a landfill © rawpixel

Every year, over 60 million tons of food is wasted in the United States, more than any other country in the world. That’s about 40% of the entire country’s annual food supply, according to findings from the organization Recycle Track Systems. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that American food waste is responsible for 58% of the methane emissions that come from landfills. Methane is a primary contributor to global warming, trapping heat 28 times more effectively than carbon dioxide, and is accountable for an estimated 30% of the total increase in temperatures worldwide.  

The challenge of food waste only continues to worsen, with the amount of dumped food scraps having tripled in the United States over the past 50 years. Yet, despite the severity of the issue, the United States still does not have a federal law addressing food waste disposal, and only five states in the country have laws banning food waste in landfills. 

The failures at both federal and state levels have led nonprofits and local community governments around the country to step up. In 2020, in the face of a food insecurity crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, college students from across the country came together and started the Farmlink Project. 

The Farmlink Project stops food waste at the source, matching food producers with surplus to local leaders of food scarce communities. The organization ensures that this surplus is sent to those in need by providing means of transportation, rather than it being wasted. Farmlink believes that the key to stopping food waste is collaboration. 

“It’s so important to expand the amount of people you work with,” said Julia Desantis, Farmlink’s head of sustainability and development coordinator, “it’s going to take representing so many more farmers and communities to move the needle.”

As of 2023, the Farmlink Project salvages 3.2 million pounds of food per month and operates in 48 different states. The organization is also helping future activists get involved. Through Farmlink’s Innovation, Education, and Leadership Development–or FIELD–fellowship, selected college students work in tandem with a local partner company for nine months to map out creative and sustainable solutions to that company’s food waste.

According to their website, Farmlink’s end goal is to “put themselves out of business.” The organization stresses the importance of working with local governments to institute permanent policy changes that would make their work obsolete. 

“Farmlink is meeting the US where it is because there’s so much waste falling through the cracks,” Desantis explained, “but we also need to think about how do we stop the bleeding? We don’t want to constantly plug the hole.”

Lydia O’Connor, who previously interned at Farmlink and Run on Climate, and has now rejoined the Run on Climate team, emphasized that more work needs to be done at all levels of government to remove the need for organizations like Farmlink. 

“This is why Run On Climate’s work is so important,” O’Connor explained, “the goal is that eventually we won’t need organizations like Farmlink because we’ll have stronger policies to prevent food waste. Run On Climate is working directly to pass those transformative policies with local leaders focused on emissions from food waste and improving human health.” 

Several U.S. cities have already made significant progress towards that end.

In June, 2022, Mesa, Arizona rolled out the Mesa Climate Action Plan with the city's ambitious goal to reach emission neutrality by 2050. As part of the plan, Mesa officials unveiled the Food Waste to Energy Initiative. The plan includes the construction of labs that take solid food waste and compost it into "bioslurry," a liquid waste product that can be broken down to release biogas. The city plans on using this biogas as fuel for their food scrap collection vehicles. Mesa officials hope to divert 10,000 pounds of food from landfills each year.

In the winter of 2023, Baltimore, MD received a grant from the the United States Department of Agriculture to expand its Public Works Office of Waste Diversion. Baltimore will invest $10,000 in 4MyCity and Bmore Community Food, food recovery centers that distribute food scraps citywide to communities in need. Additionally, Baltimore has developed a 5-10 year plan that will expand the amount of tax credits, rebates for facility upgrades, and other incentives available to encourage the city’s businesses to have standardized waste collection facilities. Baltimore hopes to cut its food waste in half by the year 2050. 

Most recently, Seattle, WA Mayor Bruce Harrell released the city’s updated Food Action Plan on September 5, 2024. 24% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions come from food consumption, based on a report from 2019, so the city plans to work holistically with all parts of its food system to reduce waste. Part of the plan is the “Compost Right” campaign. The campaign will increase funding for the city’s Green Business Program that helps companies implement better food recycling amenities, and will distribute posters to resident households that highlight their nearest available composting services. 

“The strength moving forward is a systems approach,” said Bridget Igoe, strategic advisor for Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment, “people are feeling really energized and are eager to collaborate on this work.”

A handful of cities initiating food waste policy is a far cry from America’s goal of cutting its total food waste in half by 2030, but they’re steps in the right direction. With increased action from local governments, and the support of nonprofits, other cities will hopefully be inspired to revitalize their food systems and take action to produce less waste. 

A countrywide effort against food waste is the only path to real change, and according to Igoe, now is the time to unite and start down this path together.

“The world is on fire, and we all have to act like it.”