A New California Law Will Help Prevent Food Waste by Requiring It to Be Donated Instead of Thrown Away

Carlos Matias
Carlos Matias
Carlos Matias lives in the Bronx, NY. The only thing he enjoys more than food and writing is weaving the two together. And empanadas. He recently released his debut picture book, Emergency Quarters.
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published Jan 6, 2022
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California is introducing dozens of new laws that go into effect this year. They’re all worth mentioning, but we’re incredibly excited about Senate Bill 1383 — which affects how the state and its food distributors treat food waste to decrease the amount of garbage that will end up in landfills.

So what does this new law mean for Californians? All residents will be required to separate organic waste, such as food and green material, from the rest of their garbage. 

The new law also requires that food suppliers — such as supermarkets and grocery stores — donate all edible food they usually would have disposed of and sent to landfills. The new bill is a win in so many ways, not only for the planet, but also for those affected by food insecurity. Less food waste means less garbage, which is excellent for the environment. Not to mention, a hopeful increase of food going to those in need.

According to MarketWatch, homelessness saw a huge jump to 66,436 people right before the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles. For context, that’s a 13 percent increase from the year before. And in October 2021, Independent revealed that the well-known Skid Row neighborhood — a 54-block area in downtown L.A. — has now grown to have a homeless population of 8,000 people.

Food waste is a global issue, with studies showing that about a third of the world’s food is never actually eaten, but this is a step in the right direction for the U.S. who is responsible for discarding more food than any other country in the world. Hopefully, this change inspires the rest of the country to shift how they think about food waste.

If you don’t live in California but want to join the fight against food waste, there are still other ways you can do your part — like finding ways to properly store your food so that you waste less of it.