Edible Food Recovery Program

California Senate Bill 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016) and the Senate Bill 1383 regulations adopted by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (“CalRecycle”) require certain commercial edible food generators to arrange to recover the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise be disposed (e.g., a food generator might enter into an agreement with a food recovery organization to pick-up edible food that would otherwise be thrown away).

Commercial edible food generators subject to Senate Bill 1383 are divided into two tiers – one and two – each with a different compliance deadline. In general, CalRecycle considers tier one as having more produce, fresh grocery, and shelf-stable foods to donate and tier two as having more prepared foods to donate, which often require more careful handling to meet food safety requirements.

Senate Bill 1383 requires all cities, counties, and special districts that provide solid waste collection services to implement an edible food recovery program including, at a minimum, all of the following:

• Developing, posting online, and annually updating a list of food recovery organizations and food recovery services operating within the jurisdiction;
• Providing commercial edible food generators with information about the edible food recovery program, edible food generator requirements, food recovery organizations and food recovery services operating in the jurisdiction and where a list of locations can be found, and information about actions that can be taken to prevent the creation of food waste;
• Increasing commercial edible food generator access to food recovery organizations and food recovery services;
• Monitoring commercial edible food generator compliance; and
• Increasing edible food recovery capacity if county-level analysis indicates that there is insufficient capacity to meet edible food recovery needs.

For additional information on the City’s Edible Food Recovery Program, please contact the Planning & Environmental Services Department at (949) 639-0500 or via our online contact form.

List of Local Food Recovery Organizations and Food Recovery Services

Last Updated: July 2023

Name: Families Forward
Address: 8 Thomas, Irvine, CA 92618
Telephone Number: (949) 552-2727*
Collection Service Area: Orange County
Type of Food Accepted for Food Recovery: Non-perishable items only
Entity Type per Senate Bill 1383: Food Recovery Organization

Name: Laguna Food Pantry
Address: 20652 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Telephone Number: (949) 497-7121*
Collection Service Area: Unrestricted
Type of Food Accepted for Food Recovery: Dairy, produce, and non-perishable items
Entity Type per Senate Bill 1383: Food Recovery Organization

Name: Mercy Warehouse
Address: 27632 El Lazo, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Telephone Number: (949) 910-0024*
Collection Service Area: Orange County
Type of Food Accepted for Food Recovery: Dairy, deli, bread, meat, produce, and non-perishable items
Entity Type per Senate Bill 1383: Food Recovery Organization

Name: South County Outreach
Address: 7 Whatney Suite B, Irvine, CA 92618
Telephone Number: (949) 380-8144*
Collection Service Area: Unrestricted
Type of Food Accepted for Food Recovery: Produce and non-perishable items (non-expired)
Entity Type per Senate Bill 1383: Food Recovery Organization

*Please call ahead of time to schedule donations.

Edible Food Recovery Services Partner

Abound Food Care provides certain edible food recovery program services to support the City’s Senate Bill 1383 compliance efforts.