Top: Photo courtesy Natural Resources Defense Council

NRDC’s Food Matters project supports cities and their local partners in developing comprehensive approaches to addressing food waste and surplus food, including through food rescue. Its new report, Advancing Food Rescue In Cities: Strategies For Municipalities And Their Partners, synthesizes insights and best practices from 11 Food Matters cities — Denver, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, Detroit, Jersey City (NJ), Memphis and Nashville (TN), and Madison (WI) — “so that other municipalities across the United States can use them to develop or strengthen their own local food rescue networks,” note the authors. In each city, municipal government staff (or, in some cases, a nonprofit organization or consultant) used surveys and interviews to assess and report on the status, needs, and opportunities related to their local food rescue networks.

From these data, NRDC identified common challenges and solutions, including five key elements to developing a strong food rescue strategy: understanding the food rescue landscape in your municipality, coordinating strategically with local partners, educating stakeholders and community members about food rescue, directing financial and other resources toward food rescue, and advocating for the advancement of government initiatives to support food rescue. Challenges cited include barriers to coordination within food rescue networks, e.g., inconsistent communication regarding donations and misunderstood regulations or lack of sufficient regulations; and resource limitations, including lack of staffing and infrastructure and inconsistent or unsuitable donations.

The primary audience for this report, says NRDC, is local government staff, “due to their unique influence on local policy and programs and their relationships with local businesses and nonprofit organizations. However, because food rescue organizations play a key role in rescuing and redistributing food, several recommendations are directed at them, with suggestions for where municipalities can be supportive partners.”