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Saturday, March 25, 2023

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Food Donations | Environmental Health | Riverside County

Food Donations

IN CALIFORNIA

5.5

Million Tons of Food is Wasted

4.6

Million People are Hungry

134000

Children are Hungry in Riverside County

Food Donation Documents

Limited Service Charitable Food Operation Operator's Guide
Don't Waste, Donate!
Donated Food to a Non-Profit Charitable Organization
Food Expiration Dates
Safe Food Handling of Donated Foods: English | Spanish
Safe Surplus Food Donation Toolkit
Packinghouse Waste Recycling Guide
Best Management Practices for Limited Service Charitable Food Operations

Helpful Links

Click graphic to enlarge

Food Handler Quick Links

Food Waste Prevention

Don't Waste, Donate!

A new law takes effect on January 1, 2022 with the goal of reducing the disposal of organic waste by 75% by 2025 and an additional goal of rescuing at least 20% of edible food fit for human consumption currently going to waste.
Donating food is an easy way to address food insecurity in your community while also reducing food waste filling our landfills.
Certain food facilities will be required to partner with local food recovery organizations in order to donate food that is still edible, instead of discarding the food into the trash.
Do you own a food facility in Riverside County? Get more information here or at the CalRecycle website.
If you are a resident of Riverside County, you can visit the CalRecyle website for what your community will be doing to reduce food waste from residences and how you can help.

Any food facility may donate food to a food bank, pantry, or soup kitchen for distribution free of charge. Check out local donation sites.
A permitted food facility can donate excess food and are protected from civil and criminal liability if the food later causes harm to its recipient. Check out these practices to follow to ensure safe food donation.
Know the truth about “Food Expiration Dates”.
Encourage your child to use the Share Tables at school.

Register to become a Limited Service Charitable Feeding Operation (LSCFO)

We are asking all LSCFOs to register with our Department. Your organization will be added to our list of local donation sites. There are many advantages to registration:

Why Register? To Work Together!
EH registration does not require any fees.
Diverts wholesome food to people and not landfills.
Maintains safety and sanitation for an often-vulnerable population.
Links to a larger regional network of commercial food providers, transporters and pantries.
Contributes to meeting California solid waste reduction targets.

To register complete this application and submit it to your nearest Environmental Health office.

What is a Share Table?

A Share Table is a table in student common areas where students can place unopened food and drinks that they choose not to eat or drink. This provides an opportunity for other students to take additional helpings of food or beverage at no cost to them.

What can be placed on the Share Table?

Pre-packaged food, unopened wrapped food and beverages, or food items with a peel. Examples include:

No items from home can be placed on the Share Table.

Unopened milk, cheese sticks, yogurt (held under proper temperature control)
Unopened crackers, cereal bars, and chips
Unopened bags of sliced fruit
Whole fruits with an inedible peel, such as oranges or bananas

Who is responsible for the Share Table?

Share Tables must be supervised by a responsible person who is educated on food safety principals. This person will be responsible to ensure that only allowable foods are placed on the Share Tables.

Why are Share Tables used?

Food waste is a national problem with approximately 40% of edible food ending up in landfills and never reaching a plate, while many Americans lack reliable access to a sufficient amount of affordable, nutritious food. Schools can play an influential role in helping solve this problem by way of Share Tables.

What about food safety?

Schools can address food safety concerns by either maintaining temperature control throughout the “life” of the food product or use the time-temperature relationship method.

Temperature Control: Potentially hazardous, pre-packaged foods such as dairy products must be maintained under proper refrigeration at or below 41ºF.
Time-Temperature Method: This method relies on monitored timing in order to maintain food safety versus relying on temperature control. The schools will be responsible to provide procedures and time markings to reflect the proper implementation of the Time-Temperature method under California Retail Food Code Section 114000.

Click here for additional information from the California Department of Education.