Edible Impact: Delivering 30,000 Meals to the Local Community 

Stanford is piloting a food recovery initiative to donate excess food to the community.

Stanford is expanding its food recovery efforts by piloting an initiative to collect excess food from cafes and events on campus to donate to the local community. The pilot has the capacity to recover up to 37,500 pounds of edible food – translating to over 30,000 meals.

California state law, Senate Bill 1383, now mandates the recovery of edible food. This means that all food generators on campus (dining halls, cafes, and event planners) are required to donate any excess.

“Preventing edible food waste from the start and distributing excess food to students and staff are the best strategies to comply with the law,” says Julie Muir, Associate Director of Zero Waste Systems. “But when there is excess that can be donated off campus, this pilot helps simplify that process.”

Using a mobile app, cafes and event planners can schedule free pick-ups of excess food – from beverages to burgers – between the hours of 6 AM and 7 PM. The food is distributed to local food recovery organizations, and data on the number of meals donated and greenhouse gas emissions saved is shared back with the food generators to demonstrate their impact. 

The pilot runs through August, when it will be evaluated for expansion across campus. Explore more food recovery resources and start donating now.