Top: Food scraps receiving at Star City Compost in Roanoke, Virginia. Photo courtesy Craig Coker

In July 2024, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), along with Virginia Energy, was selected by the U.S. EPA to receive a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) for more than $99 million for projects that will capture and convert or reuse methane emissions from coal mines and landfills. As part of the CPRG award, DEQ has established the Food Rescue and Composting Subaward Program to reduce the amount of food waste sent to landfills by investing in edible food recovery and composting programs at colleges, universities, and state agencies. The subaward program will distribute a total of approximately $8.8 million, funding an estimated 15 to 20 projects through a competitive process.  In addition, DEQ is compiling a report on the State of Wasted Food in Virginia, which mostly discusses programs underway at colleges and universities, since they will be the recipients of the subaward. The agency is also planning to launch a mapping tool that will highlight different resource and groups engaged in food waste prevention, food rescue, and composting.