Food rescue, also called food recovery, food salvage, or surplus food redistribution, is the process of collecting edible food that would otherwise be wasted from places like farms, markets, grocery stores, restaurants, and dining areas. This food is then given to local programs that help people in need during emergencies.

In 2022, the United Nations reported that 1.05 billion tons of food were wasted worldwide. At stores, restaurants, and homes, about 19% of the food available to people was thrown away. Around 13% of all food globally was lost during the process of moving food from farms to consumers. At the same time, about one in every 11 people worldwide faced hunger, which is around 733 million people.

The food that is recovered is safe to eat but often cannot be sold. For example, fresh fruits and vegetables that do not look perfect in shape or color might be thrown away. Items that are past their "sell by" dates or have small imperfections, like a bruised apple or bread that is one day old, are often donated by grocery stores, restaurants, and farmers' markets. Sometimes, food is not damaged but is leftover from meals, such as fish or meat scraps. Food manufacturers may also donate items that are slightly below quality standards or have short dates. In many countries, food that has reached a "best before" or "sell by" date may still be safe to eat, though these dates can mean different things in different places.

Groups that support food rescue work with food banks, pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters to help distribute food. These groups must keep food safe during storage and transport. They also need to share information quickly to ensure food that needs to be used soon reaches the right place. Apps that connect leftover food from stores and restaurants with customers and charities are becoming more common.

Food rescue helps reduce hunger and also lowers the amount of greenhouse gases produced in landfills. This is an important step in helping cities become more environmentally friendly. In recent years, the European Union has worked to reduce food waste as part of its goals for sustainability. In 2016, France required supermarkets to donate unsold food instead of throwing it away. In 2021, Milan, Italy, won an environmental award for a citywide project to redistribute extra food from stores, restaurants, and companies. In 2023, Brussels, Belgium, began improving labels on "best before" and "use by" dates to help people better understand when food is still safe to eat.

The food system

Rescued food is often saved from being thrown away in landfills or other waste areas. On farms, food that would be plowed back into the soil is instead collected by volunteers. To help save more food, the USDA has expanded its Farm Storage Facility Loan Program, which gives farmers low-cost loans to build storage spaces that keep food from being wasted.

In the United States, businesses that donate food through rescue programs have received tax benefits since 1996. These businesses are also protected from legal problems by the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.

Food rescue programs help provide healthy food to people in need, including those in food deserts. A food desert is an area where people have limited access to healthy and affordable food due to a lack of grocery stores or other challenges. These programs also help people who may not qualify for state food-assistance programs. Many programs offer immediate help without requiring an application. Because so much edible food is thrown away, food rescue organizations often do not need to check if people qualify for help. This model allows them to give food quickly and with more flexibility than other hunger relief programs.

Greenhouse gas emissions

According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, food waste is the third-largest cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Ninety-eight percent of food waste is sent to landfills, where it breaks down and releases methane gas into the air. Because food waste decays faster than other materials in landfills, it produces more methane emissions than any other type of waste. Methane gas has more than 20 times the effect of carbon dioxide on climate change. Wasted food in landfills makes up 8-10% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. These gases from rotting food contribute to higher global temperatures, extreme weather events, rising sea levels, ozone layer thinning, and a greater risk of diseases.

Food rescue programs help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. Every dollar spent on rescuing food from landfills or composting saves about 7.5 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions.

Between August 2016 and July 2017, Aria, a large resort and convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada, worked with Three Square Food Bank to start a food rescue program. The program rescued more than 24,000 kilograms of extra food from large events. This effort provided over 45,000 meals to people facing food shortages and prevented about 108 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere. This amount of emissions is equal to the amount of oil in 250 barrels.

Food waste hierarchy

The food waste hierarchy is a guide that helps reduce waste. It has five levels, listed from best to worst: prevention and reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal.

Food reuse strategies

The United States Environmental Protection Agency suggests ways to prevent food from going to landfills. These methods are listed in order of importance: reducing the amount of food created, giving food to people in need, feeding animals, using food in industries, and composting. These actions are better than burning food or sending it to landfills.

To reduce food waste, people can plan meals carefully, make shopping lists, and buy only what they need. Buying smaller amounts of food more often can help avoid spoilage. Some people waste food because they misunderstand labels on food packages. Learning about these labels can help reduce waste. Using bright-colored tape to mark items that need to be used soon can also help people remember what to use.

Reducing waste at the start of the food supply chain is important. This can include donating food, using food in new ways, or reprocessing it into new products. It can also involve solving problems like unharvested vegetables, food that is still good but past its "best before" date, or unused parts from food production. These actions increase the amount of food that can be used, which helps people become more self-sufficient and can benefit the environment, economy, and society.

The Flashfood app, created by Josh Domingues, helps people in Canada and the United States buy food that might otherwise be wasted. It alerts users to food that is sold for much less money. Users can order online and pick up their food at a store. The Too Good to Go app, first used in Denmark in 2015, allows customers to buy discounted food from restaurants and bakeries. By 2022, this app was used in 15 countries.

Organizations can give non-perishable food and food that is still good to food banks, food pantries, shelters, and other groups that help distribute food.

People who rescue food are sometimes called freegans or dumpster divers.

Many animals can eat food scraps, but spoiled or contaminated food can make them sick. According to Virginia State University's guidelines, food given to animals must be fresh, safe, and have the right nutrients for their species. Some farmers, waste collectors, and recycling centers collect food scraps for animals. Local rules about using food scraps for animals may vary.

Anaerobic digestion is a process that turns food waste and other organic waste into energy. Food is separated from packaging and mixed with bacteria in sealed tanks without oxygen. The bacteria break down the waste to create methane gas, which can be used to make electricity.

Hydrothermal liquefaction is a process that heats food waste under high pressure to make oil. This oil can be turned into fuel. After this process, the leftover water is treated through anaerobic digestion, creating methane and carbon dioxide gas that can be used for heat and electricity.

Fats, oils, grease, and meat can also be used to make fuel through a process called rendering and biodiesel production.

Food waste can be added to compost. Composting is better than landfills because it reduces harmful methane gas and improves soil quality.

Countries

Groups around the world, including local, national, and international organizations, are working to save food, reduce food waste, and stop the release of greenhouse gases from decaying waste. The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to cut global food waste by 50% at the retail and consumer levels by 2030.

As of 2022, about 1 in 6 Australians experience food insecurity. Australia was the first country to adopt the goal of reducing food waste by 50%. The Australian government supports food rescue efforts. OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue organization, partners with over 3,000 food donors and 1,800 charities. It has provided more than 210 million meals. People can find OzHarvest locations using its online resource locator.

OzHarvest began in November 2004, founded by Ronni Kahn. As an event manager, Kahn saw how much food was wasted at events. She also helped lobby the Australian government to change the Civil Liability Act in 2005. This change allowed organizations like OzHarvest to reuse food for charity without facing legal risks.

Food Banks Canada is a national charity that supports food banks across Canada. In 2017, 1 in 8 Canadian families (12.5%) struggled with food shortages. By June 2022, 1 in 5 Canadians (20%) reported going hungry. University students are especially at risk. A 2021 survey of 6,167 students at 13 Canadian universities found that 56.8% experienced food insecurity, compared to 41.7% in 2020. Indigenous, LGBTQ+, and international students were more likely to need food assistance.

Second Harvest Toronto was started in 1985 by Ina Andre and Joan Clayton. They worked with restaurants and expanded to distribution centers to collect food that would otherwise be thrown away. Loblaw, Canada’s largest food retailer, has donated over 1.5 million pounds of surplus food to Second Harvest. Harvest Kitchens use donated food to prepare meals for seniors, the homeless, children, and others. Some volunteers learn food service skills to help them find jobs. Second Harvest’s Feeding Our Future program provides food to children at summer camps. In 2022, the charity received requests for food for 6,000 children, up from 2,000 the previous summer. The Second Harvest Food Rescue App connects businesses with surplus food to local nonprofits. Lori Nikkel is the current CEO of Second Harvest Toronto.

Leftovers, started in 2012 by Lourdes Juan in Calgary, Alberta, has expanded to other cities. It provides higher-quality food to improve health.

In Squamish, British Columbia, the Squamish Helping Hands Society fights homelessness through Under One Roof, a community center offering housing and food programs. It partners with local groups, including the Food Bank. The center’s market and kitchen use donated food to provide meals for free or at a cost the buyer can afford. The building is planned to produce no waste. Maureen Mackell became the executive director of Squamish Helping Hands in 2010.

China’s first food bank, the Green Food Bank in Shanghai, began in 2014. It collects unused food and gives it to those in need. A recent project is an online marketplace where items cost less than a US cent. People must provide government-issued documents to prove they need help.

France passed laws to reduce food waste. Since 2012, businesses producing over 120 tons of organic waste yearly must recycle it. Later laws required all businesses producing at least 10 tons of organic waste to recycle. In 2016, supermarkets were required to donate unsold food instead of throwing it away.

About 8% of Latin America’s population are Indigenous people. They are nearly three times more likely to live in extreme poverty than non-Indigenous people. In Guatemala, the food bank Desarrollo en Movimiento (DEM) works with Indigenous communities like the K’iche’ and Q’eqchi’. It trains staff and adapts services to meet cultural needs, such as using local herbs and avoiding lactose-containing foods.

No Food Waste, started in 2014 in Coimbatore, India, recovers food from events and provides inexpensive meals through Community Kitchens. Women from shelters and self-help groups help run the kitchens and gain job skills. The organization serves over 5,000 people daily in 15 cities.

Leket Israel, Israel’s national food bank, was founded in 2003 by Joseph Gitler, who saw waste after celebrations. It redistributes food and meals to those in need. Its Soup Program delivers meals to people who cannot leave their homes. Dietitians from Israel’s Ministry of Health help provide nutrition workshops in multiple languages.

Kaibosh, New Zealand’s first food rescue organization, began in 2008 in Wellington. It collects surplus food and helps change laws to allow businesses to donate food without legal risks. As of 2022, Kaibosh operates three branches, redistributing 60 tonnes of food monthly to over 130 charities. Its goal is to achieve "Zero food poverty. Zero food waste." Matt Dagger is the general manager.

KiwiHarvest, originally FoodShare Dunedin, was founded in 2012 by Deborah Manning in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is part of the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance and has received support from the Ministry for the Environment. A national campaign called "Love Food, Hate Waste" helped spread its model to cities like Auckland.

Fair Food, Auckland’s first food rescue organization, was founded in 2011. Other groups work in cities such as…