In Elmsford, New York, a change is unfolding in the grocery business, heralding a new era in food waste management and hunger relief. Sean Rafferty, the store manager of ShopRite of Elmsford-Greenburgh, is at the forefront of this effort. Gone are the days when unsold food items ended up in the trash. Today, Rafferty is busy preparing boxes of bread, donuts, fresh produce, and dairy products, destined for a food bank as part of a state-wide initiative that mandates larger businesses to donate edible food.

Rafferty, a 40-year veteran in the grocery industry, reflects on the stark contrast between past practices and current efforts. “Years ago, everything went in the garbage … to the landfills, the compactors or wherever it was,” he says. But now, thanks to numerous available programs, they can donate food, thereby aiding people struggling with food insecurity.

This shift is part of a broader movement in several states to combat food waste, increasingly recognized as both an environmental and a social issue. Globally, about a third of food is wasted, with the United States reporting even higher figures at 40%, according to the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic.

Emily Broad Leib, a Harvard University law professor and director of the school’s Food Law and Policy Clinic, points out the staggering impact of food waste. “Food waste causes about 8% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions,” she states. Moreover, 20% of water in the U.S. is used to grow food that ends up being discarded.

In response to these alarming statistics, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency set a goal in 2015 to cut food waste by 50% by 2030. This has spurred a variety of state-led and nonprofit initiatives.

Ten states, along with the District of Columbia, have enacted legislation or policies to reduce, compost, or donate waste. All 50 states have passed laws shielding donors and recovery organizations from liability linked to donated food.

California and Vermont have launched programs to convert food waste into compost or energy, and Connecticut requires larger food businesses to recycle food waste. Farmers in Maryland can receive a tax credit for food donations.

States like New York and Rhode Island have established systems allowing food to be donated. Massachusetts has limited the amount of food waste businesses can send to landfills, which has increased food donations by 22% over two years, according to Broad Leib.

New York’s program is particularly impactful. As of late October, it had redistributed 5 million pounds of food through Feeding New York State, aiming to double this figure next year. Among the entities required to donate food are colleges, prisons, amusement parks, and sporting venues.

Westchester County, part of New York, operates eight refrigerated trucks for food collection. Danielle Vasquez, food donations coordinator for Feeding Westchester, notes the significant increase in participation since the law’s enactment. The collected food goes to nearly 300 programs and partners throughout the county.

Despite these efforts, challenges remain in meeting the 2030 goal. Broad Leib calls for a more coordinated national effort, while Kathryn Bender, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Delaware, emphasizes the need for solutions that prevent food waste in the first place. “The best solution for food waste is to not have it in the first place,” Bender says. “If we don’t need to produce all that food, let’s not put all the resources into producing that food.”