Edible Food Recovery Program

1. Arrange to recover the maximum amount of excess edible food that would otherwise go to landfills.
2. Either establish a written agreement or complete the City’s Food Recovery Partnership Form with partnering organizations/services that accept edible food
3. Maintain records of all edible food recovery activities and receipts. Submit either written agreements or the City’s Food Recovery Partnership Form in collaboration with food recovery organization(s) to the City each year.

Tier 1 Edible Food Generators

These entities are required to recover the maximum amount of edible food (that would otherwise be disposed of) starting January 1, 2022

• Grocery store– a store that is 10,000 square feet or more in size that is primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, and any area that is not separately owned within the store where the food is prepared and served, including a bakery, deli, and meat and seafood departments.
• Supermarket- a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales $2,000,000 or more that sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some perishable items
• Food service provider- an entity primarily engaged in providing food services to institutional, governmental, commercial, or industrial locations of others based on contractual arrangements with these types of organizations
• Food distributor- a company that distributes food to entities including, but not limited to, supermarkets and grocery stores
• Wholesale food vendor- a business engaged in the wholesale distribution of food, where food is received, shipped, stored, or prepared for distribution to a retailer, warehouse, distributor, or other destinations

Tier 2 Edible Food Generators

These entities are required to recover the maximum amount of edible food (that would otherwise be disposed of) starting January 1, 2024

• Restaurant with 250 or more seats, or a total facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet
• Hotel with an on-site food facility and 200 or more rooms
• Health facility with an on-site food facility and 100 or more beds
• Large venue- a permanent venue facility that annually seats or serves an average of more than 2,000 individuals within the grounds of the facility per day of operation of the venue facility. A venue facility includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned or operated stadium, amphitheater, arena, hall, amusement park, conference or civic center, zoo, aquarium, airport, racetrack, horse track, performing arts center, fairground, museum, theater, or other public attraction facility. A site under common ownership or control that includes more than one large venue that is contiguous with other large venues in the site, is a single large venue
• Large event- an event, including, but not limited to, a sporting event or a flea market, that charges an admission price, or is operated by a local agency, and serves an average of more than 2,000 individuals per day of operation of the event, at a location that includes, but is not limited to, a public, nonprofit, or privately owned park, parking lot, golf course, street system, or other open space when being used for an event
• A state agency with a cafeteria with 250 or more seats or a total cafeteria facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet
• A local education agency with an on-site food facility