Edible Food Organizations

 What is a Food Organizer? An entity that engages in the collection or receipt of edible food from Tier 1 and Tier 2 edible food generators and distributes that edible food to the public for food recovery either directly or through other entities. An organizer can be a food bank, food pantry, soup kitchen and any other non-profit distributor or recovery service. 

Requirements for food recovery organizations and food recovery services:


If a food recovery organization or service does decide to participate by working with a Tier 1 or Tier 2 edible food generator, they are required to:

Food Donation

 • Enter into a written agreement or contract with the Tier 1 or Tier 2 edible food generator. CalRecycle has developed a Model Food Recovery Agreement that     can be used as an example. The contract or written agreement can include: 

       o Establishing a regular food recovery delivery or collection schedule,

       o Identifying allowable foods for recovery, and

       o Cost-sharing options (food recovery organizations and services do not need to accept recovered food for free, they can decide to charge for their            collection/recovery services).

 • Report the total pounds recovered from Tier 1 and Tier 2 edible food generators in the previous calendar year to the jurisdiction where their                     primary address is physically located. The jurisdiction will in turn report to CalRecycle the pounds collected to measure statewide progress toward         achieving 20% edible food recovery goal.

 • Maintain additional records as described below.


Recordkeeping requirements for Food Recovery Organizations:

Food recovery organizations must maintain the following records to meet SB 1383 requirements for food recovery:

• The name, address, and contact information for each Tier 1 or Tier 2 edible food generator that the organization receives edible food from.

• The quantity in pounds of edible food received from each Tier 1 or Tier 2 edible food generator per month.

• The name, address, and contact information for each food recovery service that the organization receives edible food from for food recovery.


Recordkeeping requirements for Food Recovery Services:

Food recovery services must maintain the following records to meet SB 1383 requirements for food recovery:

• The name, address, and contact information for each Tier 1 or Tier 2 edible food generator that the service collects edible food from.

• The quantity in pounds of edible food collected from each Tier 1 or Tier 2 edible food generator per month.

• The quantity in pounds of edible food transported to each food recovery organization per month.

• The name, address, and contact information for each food recovery organization that the service transports edible food to for food recovery.