NYC Law Requires Supermarkets Donate Excess Food to Charity

A new bill called the “Excess Food Law” went into effect in New York in February, NYC Food Policy reported. The bill is designed to help reduce food insecurity by requiring supermarkets and grocery stores to Donate excess food to charity.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, food insecurity has increased substantially. From April to June 2020, 1 in 10 New Yorkers experienced household food scarcity, NYS Health Foundation reported.

Assemblyman Tom Abinati supported the bill and said it would help meet new demands placed on food banks. Abinati told WCBS Radio, “In speaking with the Westchester Food Bank and some of the community organizations that are distributing food, they are seeing the demand for their food double. We’re seeing lines like we’ve never before. We’re seeing people who never before had problems putting food on the table are now needing the services of the food bank and the community organizations that distribute food.”

Under the bill, supermarkets have to Donate excess food close to its sell-by date to food banks, non-profits, or religious organizations providing free food to their communities. The food should be safe to eat but not sold in stores due to labeling, appearance, or excess. Organizations receiving the donations must pick up the food from the stores.

The bill also helps reduce the amount of wasted food. “This law ensures that, in New York, food formerly destined for landfills will now be available for the more than two million state residents who are food insecure,” said Sen. Peter Harckham in NY1. “And with so many great community-based organizations and initiatives at work to help our neighbors, making sure they have ‘access to the excess’ will be all around beneficial.”

Separating food scraps keeps them out of landfills, where they can emit methane. Learn about compost in One Green Planet, including getting started with composting, 7 things you can do with compost if you don’t garden, how to compost without a compost bin, and home composting 101.