A $4 million in grant has been made by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner, Basil Seggos, for generators of excess wholesome food and food scraps.
The funds will enable producers to expand their capacity to donate wholesome food or divert it to organics recycling facilities.
An estimated 40% of the food produced in the United States goes uneaten while about 2.5 million New Yorkers are food insecure. In addition to wasting natural resources, including water and nutrients, to produce food that will never be consumed, much of this organic waste is disposed of in solid waste landfills where its decomposition accounts for more than 15% of US emissions of methane.
