According to a recent analysis by Project Drawdown, reducing food waste is the second-highest impact climate action an individual can take. In her recent SEAS and PitE Alumni Master Chat, Robin Franz Martin (BS ’99) discussed food surplus recovery and waste prevention and policy opportunities to better our food systems. 

Specifically, Martin discussed her work leading the Food Recovery Initiative at Joint Venture Silicon Valley, which is tasked with implementing the food recovery portions of California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy (SB 1383) in Santa Clara County. Going into effect in January 2022, SB 1383 set 2025 targets of a 75% reduction in organic waste going to landfills and requiring 20% of all unsold and edible food to be sent to food recovery organizations. This state law plays a significant part in Martin’s role, where she works directly with the latter target.

Under SB 1383, Martin and the Santa Clara County Food Recovery Program, a project under the Food Recovery Initiative, tracked the impact of local food recovery. They found that a strong network of nonprofits avoided 18,268 tons of carbon dioxide emissions by recovering 14 million pounds of food in 2023, an increase of 1.6 million pounds from 2022. The 2024 reporting data is also now available.

She says that the Initiative is currently focused on five projects and has already completed three projects, which Martin discussed in detail in her talk. One of which, A La Carte, is a completed project now managed by Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen. It’s a series of refrigerated trucks that pick up surplus prepared food from several campuses and businesses to distribute to local schools at pickup time, food truck style. They make sure that each meal comes with a family-sized portion of prepared food, including at least one grain and protein.

Martin also discussed the Initiative’s Prevention Webinar Series, which targets six major industries to teach how each industry can tackle its food surplus, including in schools, restaurants, grocery stores and large venues.

Throughout the event, Martin reviewed how the Food Recovery Initiative fits within California’s state laws, incorporates city perspectives and creates a uniform standard effort across the cities to implement an effective county-wide program.

Martin concluded the event by taking audience Q&As. The discussion focused on the roles that technology and data analytics play in making food recovery more efficient, what communities can do to build momentum for local movements and addressing school lunch food waste when students, despite their preferences, are required to select certain items such as milk and fruit to meet nutritional requirements. 

Alumni Master Chats are engaging and thought-provoking events where SEAS and PitE alumni provide an inside look at different industries and share the latest news and issues impacting our planet and society. This virtual series offers an informal, seminar-style atmosphere to hear directly from a subject matter expert, ask questions, and expand your knowledge on various topics. The full lineup is available on our Events page. Recordings of most past chats can be found here.