FLPC Fact Sheets on Food Donation and Date Labeling Noted in The Milford Daily News

On December 1, 2015, The Milford Daily News released “MassDEP launches statewide food donation resource page” about a partnership between MassDEP and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic to encourage companies to donate food.

Read the article below:

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is putting a new emphasis on donating food versus trashing food.

This November, RecyclingWorks, an organization funded by MassDEP, launched their “Food Donation Guidance for Massachusetts Businesses” page on the RecyclingWorks website.

“We were getting a noticeably increased volume of requests to get assistance for starting an effective donation program,” said Lorenzo Macaluso, director of Green Business Services with RecyclingWorks. “The feedback we were getting was that corporations were having lots of questions on how to do it safely and legally.”

RecyclingWorks connects businesses with services and resources to help them create or expand green operations, like recycling, composting and diverting food waste.

In 2014, Massachusetts instituted a commercial food waste ban for companies that dispose of one ton or more of organic waste per week. Since the ban, MassDEP and RecyclingWorks have made it an extra priority to help both businesses affected and not affected by the ban to divert food waste. One of the main ways to divert food waste is to donate edible food instead of discarding it. Most foods can be donated, but choosing the right unspoiled food, keeping it cold and transporting it to those who can eat are all critical aspects of developing a successful food donation program.

This is where RecyclingWorks comes in. The organization partnered with Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic to generate fact sheets on food donation and date labeling to provide to organizations and businesses free of charge on the Food Donation Guidance page. Likewise, the page also provides links and information on local food rescue organizations and food banks, as well as food temperature and storing guidelines.

Macaluso said the page just launched in November so RecyclingWorks doesn’t have statistics yet on who has been utilizing the resources and the links.

Businesses interested in starting a food donation program can visit the Food Donation Guidance page at http://www.recyclingworksma.com/donate/.