Links and Resources About Food Recovery in Los Angeles

Learn about some food recovery alternatives in the Los Angeles (L.A.) area. EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy prioritizes these food waste strategies from most to least preferable.

• Source Reduction
• Feed Hungry People (Donations)
• Feed Animals
• Industrial Uses
• Composting

Source Reduction

Source reduction is the strategy of preventing food from becoming waste in the first place. There are many resources available to tackle source reduction:

• EPA Food Recovery Website
  • Food and Packaging Waste Prevention Tool (xlsm) (892.16 KB, March 2014)
    Tracks the amount and reasons specific foods are wasted.
  • Reducing Wasted Food & Packaging: A Guide for Food Services and Restaurants (pdf) (1.28 MB, March 2014, EPA-909-K-14-002)
    Provides guidance on using the prevention tool tracking results to save money and reduce waste.
  • A Guide to Conducting and Analyzing a Food Waste Assessment (pdf) (1.55 MB, March 2014, EPA-530-F-15-003)
    Shows how to do a one-time snapshot wasted food assessment.
• National Restaurant Association ConServe Program
  Provides resources and tools to help restaurants through each step of a food waste reduction program; provides videos to accompany many of the EPA resources listed above.

Feed Hungry People (Donations)

The resources below include national, regional and local organizations which take food donations in the Los Angeles area. Most take non-perishables, and some accept surplus perishable foods. Be prepared to describe your donations in terms of packaging, preparation, frequency and type. The LA County Department of Public Health provides fact sheet in English (pdf) and Spanish (pdf) on Guidelines for Safe Food Donation.

• Chefs to End Hunger
  Formed by LA and SF Specialty Bakeries that provides businesses with kits containing delivery boxes, pads and aluminum pans to fill with donation food. Once the kit is filled and packed, they can be given to a Specialty Bakery Driver where the boxes will be consolidated and donated to a food bank.
• Food Finders
  Food Finders is a multiregional food bank and food rescue program headquartered in Signal Hill, CA. Volunteers and staff pick up donated food from grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants and produce markets and distribute it directly to missions, shelters and social service agencies on a same-day basis.
• Food Forward
  Food Forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people in need, and inspiring others to do the same. Staff and volunteers collect fresh fruits and vegetables that would normally go to waste from backyard fruit trees, public orchards, farmers markets, and the downtown Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market. All of the recovered produce is donated to hunger relief agencies across eight counties in Southern California, helping to feed 1.75 million people each year.
• L.A. County Food Redistribution Initiative (LACFRI)
  LACFRI is a county project that began in June 2016 to foster the donation of wholesome, surplus foods to those in need. LACFRI provides resources on how and where to donate surplus food, L.A. County food donation guidelines, and liability protections.
• LA Kitchen
  works directly with local farmers and wholesale produce companies to collect fruits and vegetables that are unsalable due to cosmetic issues or lack of commercial demand. All donations and purchases are processed at central hub for distribution or storage for use at a later date.
• MEND – Meet Each Need with Dignity
  MEND’s Emergency Food Bank distributes millions of pounds of food annually. Services are provided in Pacoima and throughout dozens of smaller pantries at community and faith-based organizations in LA County. Staff and volunteers pick up food from supermarkets, churches, schools, businesses, and other organizations. MEND also receives food from the LA Regional Food Bank. Wrap-around services and referrals to partner agencies support our clients’ healthy lifestyles.
• Urban Harvester
  Urban Harvester’s Food Recovery Program brings business with fresh excess food and communities in need together; making a sustainable and compassionate difference.
  Contact: info@urbanharvester.org, (661) 312-1133.
• FoodCycle LA
  This non-profit partners with supermarkets and eateries to get their surplus food to those in need.
• Rock and Wrap It Up!
  Matches vetted charities with eligible donors of perishable food including entertainment venues, hotels, K-12 schools and colleges, sports teams, and hospitals. Offers the free “Whole Earth Calculator” to convert pounds of food to pounds of CO2 equivalent (CO2e).
• Food Oasis / LA
  Type in your location to find food pantries, orchards, community gardens and more.
• California Food Banks Farms to Families Program
  Growers and packers can now receive a tax credit for donating produce to food banks, and in some cases CAFB can provide reimbursement for special picking and packing costs.
• Sustainable America
  Locate Food Rescue organizations.
• ReFed Innovator Database
  The Database is a living compilation of commercial and nonprofit entities turning the food waste problem into an opportunity for economic, social, and environmental impacts. This growing database is broken down by food waste solution type, organizational status, and geographic reach. Categories include secondary marketplaces that connect surplus food (food that would otherwise be wasted) to buyers. Food product creation organizations convert edible food that is currently considered waste (e.g., surplus/cosmetically challenged produce, brewery waste, vegetable trimmings) into value-added consumer food products (e.g., juices, fruit snacks, energy bars). The Database also list variety of food recovery organizations that capture edible food that would otherwise go to waste on farms, within the supply chain, or in consumer-facing businesses, and redistributes it to food insecure populations.

Food Pantries

Many have varying or limited capabilities for storing food donations and therefore limit the types or timing of donations. It’s often best to contact several to determine which can use your donations. Below are links to find local food pantries.

• The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
  Has more than 350 organizations listed on its “Pantry Locator” (self reported and updated annually).
• Ample Harvest
  Find a pantry near you on this non-profit's website
• Food Pantries.org
  See a list of California food pantries on this non-profit's website.

The following food pantries may accept perishable donations:

• Jewish Family Service LA
  Multiple locations through L.A. and the San Fernando Valley

Food Banks

Regional food banks work with local food pantries, homeless shelters and other charities for food donation. While many food banks are unable to accept perishable and prepared food, they often work with donors to find options nearby they don’t accept. Listed below, are the main food banks in the Los Angeles area.

Feed Animals

Pig/Hog Farms

Large pig farms may accept food scraps. The Federal Swine Health Protection Act requires that food containing, or that comes in contact with meat or animal materials must be boiled before being fed to pigs. Consequently, many local pig farmers are primarily interested in single-stream fruits and vegetables or grain waste. Arrangements are often informal, and can be intermittent.

Spent Brewery Grain

Spent brewery grain can be used as animal feed, primarily for cattle, but also for pigs, goats, fish and almost any livestock. Most breweries give the grain away to local farms. Manufacturers with single food waste streams can find local farms and ranches to donate their excess/by-product.

Industrial Uses

Fats, oils and grease, also known as FOG, can be converted to fuels and has various industrial uses. FOG and food scraps can also be anaerobically digested to create energy and the digestate can be composted to create a soil amendment. Los Angeles area options and resources include:

• Find an Anaerobic Digester (AD)
  Use EPA’s Excess Food Opportunities Map to identify facilities near you.
• Waste to Biogas Resources
  Searchable database of local biogas facilities that may accept FOG or food waste.
• CalRecycle's List of Anaerobic Digestion Projects in California
  Includes facilities that are currently operational, under construction, and in the permitting phase; includes feedstock used/accepted.

The table below includes all facilities in the Los Angeles area including those listed on the CalRecycle list:

FOG Collection/Biofuel

• Baker Commodities Inc.
  • 4020 Bandini Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90023; (323) 268-2801
  • Collects FOG.
  • Provides collection containers; one-time $30 registration fee.
• Co-West Commodities
  • 2586 Shenandoah Way, San Bernardino, CA 92407, (909) 403-4250
  • Collects animal by-products, FOG.
  • Provides collection containers; $20 per pick-up for mixed materials.
• Darling Delaware Co. Inc.
  • 2626 E 25th St., Los Angeles, CA 90058; (323) 583-6311
  • Collects animal by-products, FOG.
  • Provides collection containers.
• Frailich Commodities
  • 4020 Bandini Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90023; (323) 265-3477 (same address and location as Baker Commodities, but separate company)
  • Collects animal by-products, FOG.
  • Provides collection containers.
• So Cal Pumping
  • office@socalpumping.net  (866)479-4976
  • Collects FOG, used cooking oil and animal fats from grocery stores and restaurants in Southern CA.
• Southwest Processors
  • 4120 Bandini Blvd, Vernon, CA 90058; (323) 269-9876
  • Collects animal by-products, FOG.

Food Scraps Composting

Composting turns food scraps into a nutrient-rich soil amendments and can be done on site in smaller amounts or on a larger scale at a municipal or commercial level.

• Los Angeles Department of Public Works Individual Composting Program Information
• Culver City
  Our new Food Waste and Organics Recycling Program makes it easy for businesses to reduce the amount of trash going to landfills by recycling food waste and other organics.
• LA County Waste Reduction Tips for Eating Establishments (PDF)
  Includes a list of L.A.-area food banks, food scraps recyclers and rendering companies.
• The Compost Navigator
  Enter your address and any of eight material categories you’d like to sustainably manage, and the nearest composters (and AD facilities) will pop up in the map.

Food Waste Recycling Collectors

• Athens Services
  • (888) 336-6100
  • Serves cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, and Redondo Beach
  • Provides collection of all food (including meat and dairy), paper products, plant trimmings, wood, compostable serving-ware, and waxed cardboard.
  • Certified processor for the City of Los Angeles’ Commercial Food Waste Recycling Program
• Crown Disposal
  • 9189 De Garmo Ave., Sun Valley, CA 91352; (818) 899-5265
  • Delivers to Community Recycling for composting.
  • Provides collection in East Valley and West Valley areas.
• Martin Feed & Cattle
  • 8755 Chino-Corona Road, Corona, CA 92880; (909) 202-3551, info@martinfeedllc.com
  • Provides collection of grain-based products, including bread, tortillas, pasta, noodles, and other foods such as potatoes, onions etc. Call for current charges or prices paid.

Food Waste Composters

• LA Compost
  Coordinates a network of community compost hubs throughout L.A. County where food scraps are turned into compost.
• American Organics
  Composts food waste from Athens Services.
  • Victor Valley Facility, 20055 Shay Road, Victorville, CA 92394; (760) 246-7946
• Waste Management/Waste Transfer and Recycling
  • 840 S. Mission Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90023; (323) 262-9699