Regional Food Donation Infrastructure Development

Diverting food waste from the landfill is an important way to reduce carbon emissions. The US EPA Wasted Food Scale lists upcycling or food donation as the second preferred activity after prevention. The USEPA has determined 58% of methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills are caused by food waste. Up to 40% of all food produced in the US is wasted, also causing the resources used to grow, produce, water, and transport food to also be lost. Increasing food donation and upcycling wasted food is a powerful way to impact Cincinnati MSA GHG reduction.

To increase and maximize the amount of wasted food rescued, transformed, and shared, the MSA must have the required infrastructure to do so, enabling agencies, organizations, and on-line apps to best utilize the process. This includes, but is not limited to, refrigerated trucks and transportation; scales; supply and demand tracking capability; containers and space to repackage, adequate storage (refrigerated and non-refrigerated), inventory management and data collection abilities across all collaborating sectors (suppliers and receivers of product)