Find reports, policy insights, recommendations, and more.

Issue Brief | ESG | Environmental Reporting

August 2024

This brief explores how mandatory reporting on food waste and environmental impacts can drive reduction efforts and highlight economic benefits of better waste management.

Atlas – Government Grants and Incentives Issue Brief

Government Grants and Incentives | Consumer Education | Issue Brief

August 2024

This resource provides information on national and local grants and incentives designed to boost food donation, especially where tax benefits alone are insufficient.

Atlas – Food Safety for Donations Issue Brief

Food Safety for Food Donations | Guidelines | Issue Brief

July 2024

This resource outlines guidelines and best practices for policies to ensure food safety in donation processes to protect public health and encourage more donations.

Atlas – National FLW Strategies Issue Brief

Issue Brief | National Strategy | FLW Strategy

April 2024

This resource discusses the importance of national frameworks and strategies for reducing food loss and waste throughout the supply chain, promoting comprehensive food recovery efforts.

Initial assessment of the efficacy of food recovery policies in US States for increasing food donations and reducing waste

Prevention

Liability Protections | Tax Incentives | MITRE

March 2024

This paper examines the primary impact of two categories of food recovery policies on food donation and the secondary impact on food safety, food waste, and food insecurity in U.S. states. Food donation can reduce food waste while mitigating food insecurity, and it can be promoted in U.S. states through liability protection policies that provide legal protection to food donors and through tax policies that financially reward food donors via deductions and/or credits. To evaluate the effects of these policies, state food recovery policies were coded and compared. Using data from multiple sources, this study found a correlation between states with stronger liability protection policies and more food donations, and between states that provide tax incentivizes and more food waste. This paper discusses the implications of these findings.

Atlas – Tax Policy Issue Brief

Tax Incentives | Issue Brief | Tax Policy | Tax Barriers

December 2023

This brief explores fiscal policies, discussing how tax regimes can either incentivize or discourage food donations based on their structure and associated costs.

Atlas – COVID 19 Issue Briefs

COVID 19 | Disaster Preparedness

November 2023

This report highlights the impact of COVID-19 on food donation operations, presenting urgent policy measures needed to enhance food recovery during crises.

Atlas – Liability Protection Issue Brief

Liability Protections | Issue Brief

November 2023

This brief covers legal protections for food donors, explaining how clear liability protections can reduce fear and encourage the donation of safe, surplus food.

Atlas – Date Labelling Issue Brief

Prevention

Date Labeling | Issue Brief

November 2023

This resource provides detailed information on how date labeling laws and regulations can reduce food waste by clarifying the distinction between quality and safety labels.

Food Sovereignty & Food Production in East Cleveland: A Legal and Policy Guide to State and Local Law

Compost Incentives

August 2023

This report identifies strategic low-cost opportunities for agriculture and food production in East Cleveland, Ohio, and analyzes the state and local laws and policies that might help or hinder residents’ ability to capitalize on these opportunities. The report explores how East Cleveland residents might take advantage of Ohio’s regulatory structure to efficiently leverage existing resources into viable food-based businesses, owned by community members at every stage of production. Part III of the report covers regarding the composting of food waste.

Achieving Zero Food Waste: A State Policy Toolkit

May 2023

In response to constituent demand, state leaders are at the forefront of advancing efforts to tackle food waste across the United States—ensuring food makes it to those experiencing food insecurity, creating jobs and economic opportunities, while also addressing environmental harms and climate change. FLPC, in collaboration with the Zero Food Waste Coalition, created this toolkit to similarly embolden officials and advocates from across the country to learn from each other’s successes and accelerate their own leadership and impact. This toolkit contains a range of tried and tested policies that states can use to prevent food waste and keep food out of landfills and incinerators.

Federal Liability Protection For Food Donation Fact Sheet

Recovery

State | National

Liability Protections

March 2023

This fact sheet describes how businesses and nonprofits that donate or distribute donated food or grocery products are well-protected by laws designed to provide immunity from liability related to food donations. The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, originally passed in 1996 and amended by the Food Donation Improvement Act (FDIA)1 in 2022 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “the Emerson Act”), provides comprehensive federal liability protection to encourage food donation to individuals experiencing food insecurity.

Community Fridges: Legal Questions and Answers

Recovery

Liability Protections | Tax Incentives

December 2022

This guide was written and compiled by FLPC, the Hofstra Law School Community and Economic Development Clinic, and the UCLA School of Law Food Law and Policy Clinic, with significant input from the Sustainable Economies Law Center. It includes answers to legal questions that are often posed by those operating or wishing to operate community fridges in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.

Atlas – South Africa Survey

South Africa | Survey | Technical Assistance

September 2022

Champions 12.3 Playbook

Prevention

Consumer Education | Public Health Campaign

September 2022

A Gleaning Guide for Farmers

Recovery

National

Liability Protections | Tax Incentives

April 2022

Opportunities to Reduce Food Waste in the 2023 Farm Bill