Additional Resources

Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic

The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) serves partner organizations and communities in the U.S. and around the world by providing guidance on cutting-edge food system issues, while engaging law students in the practice of food law and policy. Among other issue areas, FLPC is at the forefront of policy research on reducing food waste in the United States and globally and has published several resources pertaining to federal and state policies related to food waste. FLPC partners with ReFED on development and maintenance of the Food Waste Policy Finder.

Prevention

• The Dating Game: How Confusing Food Date Labels Lead to Food Waste in America (by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and Natural Resources Defense Council)

• Date Labels: The Case for Federal Legislation

Rescue

• Federal Liability Protection for Food Donation Fact Sheet (by the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic); Spanish version

• Federal Enhanced Tax Deduction for Food Donation: A Legal Guide (by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and the Food Recovery Project at the University of Arkansas School of Law)

• Food Safety Regulations & Guidance for Food Donations: A Fifty-State Survey of State Practices (by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and the Food Safety for Donations Working Group)

• Global Food Donation Policy Atlas (in partnership with the Global FoodBanking Network). 

Recycling

• Leftovers for Livestock: A Legal Guide for Using Excess Food as Animal Feed (by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and the Food Recovery Project at the University of Arkansas School of Law)

• Bans and Beyond: Designing and Implementing Organic Waste Bans and Mandatory Organic Recycling Laws (by the Harvard Law School Law and Policy Clinic and the Center for EcoTechnology)

Toolkits

• Keeping Food Out of the Landfill: Policy Ideas for States and Localities

• US Food Loss & Waste Policy Action Plan for Congress & the Administration (by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, ReFED, World Wildlife Fund, and the Natural Resources Defense Council)

• State Policy Toolkit: Policy ideas and model legislation for state policymakers.

 

Government Resources

The United States Department of Agriculture provides resources for various stakeholders, including funding opportunities, educational resources, and updates on interagency food loss and waste reduction efforts.

The Environmental Protection Agency provides educational resources, funding opportunities, and tips for communities and businesses. The EPA also created the Food Recovery Hierarchy, which explains how some food waste reduction activities are preferential to others.

The EPA, USDA, and FDA formed the Federal Interagency Food Loss and Waste Collaboration, which outlines priorities and strategies for reducing food waste at the federal level.

 

Model Policies

NRDC and the Environmental Law Institute wrote a model Compost Procurement Policy, which any municipality can easily use to encourage compost purchasing programs. NRDC and ELI have also created this Model Ordinance on Mandatory Reporting for Large Food Waste Generators: With and Without Commentaries

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance wrote a model policy for funding organic waste diversion through landfill surcharges that can be adapted for any state or locality. Increased tipping fees have acted as a funding mechanism in at least 8 states and a few counties.

Toolkits and Guides

In January of 2020, NRDC, WWF, Harvard Food Law Policy Clinic, and ReFED launched the Zero Food Waste Coalition to engage with and inform policymakers on opportunities to prevent and reduce food loss and waste. Together, we developed this State Policy Toolkit for state leaders to advance efforts to tackle food waste. The toolkit contains a range of tried and tested model policies that states can use to prevent and keep food waste out of landfills and incinerators.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has extensive resources on food waste reduction, including Save the Food, a tool that aids in meal planning, food storage, and innovative recipes for root to leaf cooking.

The World Wildlife Fund has a variety of reports and publications to reduce food loss and waste from farm to table. Toolkits include school education programs, policy action plans, and hotel and food service guides.

Further with Food This virtual resource provides comprehensive information, solutions, and innovative new approaches to combat food loss and waste in the United States.

National Gleaning Project A project of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at the Vermont Law School, this site provides information on national and state laws pertaining to gleaning — the practice of recovering unharvested crops for distribution to food-insecure populations.

In partnership with the Nashville Food Waste Initiative, the Environmental Law Institute created A Toolkit for Incorporating Food Waste in Municipal Climate Action Plans, which evaluates current municipal Climate Action Plans and offers strategies for effectively implementing a food waste aspect.