Ventura County Public Works Agency (VCPWA) is responsible for SB1383 compliance on behalf of the unincorporated County of Ventura. Waste Free Ventura County (WFVC) is a coalition including the cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, and Ventura, who work together to reduce food waste, eliminate hunger, and recover excess edible food to distribute in our community.
Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is defined as a lack of regular access to safe and nutritious food. A person can fall into the food insecure category when there is a lack of regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life. This condition may be due to unavailability of food and/or lack of resources to obtain food.
Approximately 67,000 (8%) community members in Ventura County are experiencing food insecurity.There are over 100 food recovery organizations and services working to create more food secure communities.
Source Reduction / Food Waste Prevention
Prevention, also known as source reduction, is the most environmentally preferred pathway to reducing food waste, because it displaces additional food production. This reduces the environmental impacts associated with food production including energy, water, and nutrient inputs, land use, and GHG emissions.
Prevent food waste by taking the following actions.
- Manage inventory and avoid overstocking items that will not sell.
- Enhance packaging and storage methods.
- Reduce transit time of food products.
- Improve food handling practices and monitor quality and safety.
Food Recovery
The communities in Ventura County are working together to develop a regional excess edible food recovery program and are working with Abound Food Care to support this process. Abound Food Care will work with Tier 1 and Tier 2 edible food generators within the partner jurisdictions to support SB 1383 compliance and provide information about local food donation options. As part of this effort, Abound Food Care will interact with businesses via phone calls, mail, and in-person visits to confirm businesses are currently participating in food donation or assist them with implementing a compliant food donation program.
Edible food recovery is the intentional donation of excess edible food from a business to an organization, with the goal of feeding those who are food insecure. The State of California has a goal to increase edible food recovery, and now requires specific businesses to have food donation programs in place.
