Noting that Del Norte County residents throw out 972 tons of food annually, the Community Food Council’s new program director introduced waste authority commissioners to an ambitious project to “rescue” that food from the landfill.

Amanda Hixson said the Community Food Council and the Family Resource Center of the Redwoods will use a grant of more than $300,000 to redistribute that rescued food to those who need it.

That money comes from CalRecycle and California Climate Investments, Hixson said. The Community Food Council received a notice to proceed with its project on July 22 and has until April 1, 2021 to spend its grant dollars, she said.

“Right now we’re in the process of hiring a food recovery coordinator,” Hixson told the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority board on Tuesday. “Our overall goal is to recover 400,000 pounds of edible food in the 20 months we have for this grant.”

According to statistics she received from CalRecycle, Hixson said Del Norters throw away 3.9 million pounds of food. Most is residential, but restaurants, retailers, institutions such as hospitals, and hotels also contribute to edible food waste, she said.

Hixson’s presentation on the Food Council’s food rescue project comes as Solid Waste Authority Director Tedd Ward asked board members to weigh in on a new law that addresses food waste as a contributor to methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas.

Before Ward addressed SB 1383, Hixson noted that the new law requires at least 20 percent of the edible food currently disposed of be recovered for human consumption. She said the Food Council would use that as leverage to get local food producers on board with its project.

“This isn’t just a nice feel good thing to donate food,” she said. “It’s going to be required by law that the amount of food in the landfill be recovered by at least 20 percent by 2025.”

Hixson said the person she is considering hiring for the food recovery coordinator position has a degree in food safety, science and nutrition. The Food Council would also use volunteers to glean.

“As you all know right now we’re getting hundreds of pounds of zucchini,” she said. “If there’s someone that has a tree or trees laden with fruit, we’ll bring in volunteers.”

Food processing will also be part of the grant, Hixson said. An example she gave is if the Food Council receives a load of strawberries that are past their prime, they’d turn it into jam or freeze them.

That food will be distributed through the Food Council’s Pacific Pantry as well as Our Daily Bread. Hixson said the organization will use a food recovery software program called Chow Match, which matches entities with food to donate with those that need food.

Meanwhile, the Solid Waste Authority directed Ward to work with State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Jim Wood to come up with alternatives to SB 1383 that would apply to rural communities. Enacted in 2016, the new law would require the Solid Waste Authority to hire more staff, amend contracts and make plans to develop the infrastructure for collecting and processing food and green waste.

Ward said he was grateful for the Community Food Council’s edible recovery program, but making the other changes SB 1383 requires would be a heavy lift for Del Norte.

“It’s important to recognize that setting up a food collection program would generate a whole lot more carbon dioxide than for a similar collection program in an urban area,” he said. “Constructive engagement would yield better results than if we just scramble to comply with the law and regulations as they exist.”

Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore noted that many members on the Solid Waste Authority board have strong relationships with both Wood and McGuire and asked Ward to let them know if he needed help reaching out to the two state legislators.

“Our senator says, every time he’s here, that one size doesn’t fit all,” Inscore said. “That’s one fo his catch lines when he holds his town halls. It’s a good opportunity for him to make that a reality. We need amended legislation to address this because one size does not fit all in this arena.”

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