Donate surplus food to charity.
In the United States, 31 percent—or 133 billion pounds—of the 430 billion pounds of the available food supply at the retail and consumer levels in 2010 went uneaten. The estimated value of this food loss was $161.6 billion using retail prices. (Source: US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 2014). In the meantime, one in seven Americans relied on food banks and/or meal services to feed themselves and their families in 2014, according to the Hunger in America study series, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive study on charitable food distribution in the United States. Within the airport context, food and organic waste comprises a large percentage of the overall waste stream and amounts to extraordinary volumes of waste (according to Vancouver International Airport, 68% of its waste stream is organic), and managing organic waste presents challenges for airports. Donation of unopened prepared foods is environmentally preferable to composting, and it also addresses a major social need. Airport concessionaires are central to recovering surplus food, whether through composting programs or for donation to charitable causes. Many concessionaires have steered away from food donation because of liability concerns related to the consumption of expiring products and other food safety issues. However, the Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects food donors against liability, excepting only gross negligence and/or intentional misconduct. With this protection, it has become easier for concessionaires to participate in donation programs. Airports can encourage surplus food donation programs by adopting green concessions policies or other initiatives.
Practice Information
| Capital Cost: | Low Cost ($5,000 – $100,000 US) |
| O&M Cost: | Low ($5,000 – $50,000 US) |
| Payback Period: | Immediate (0 – 2 years) |
| Staffing Requirements: | Low (10 – 50 hours per month) |
| Reportability of Metrics: | Quantitative metric with baseline for comparison practices and is already tracked |
| Maturity of Practice: | Proven at multiple airports |
| Energy Reduction: | No effect on energy consumption |
| Environmental Benefits: | Significant, multiple environmental benefits |
| Social Benefits: | Significant, multiple social benefits |
Airport Characteristics
Categories
Case Studies
9/17/15
HMS Host (multiple locations)
HMSHost donates excess product to local food banks from its operations in 55 airports through organizations like Feeding America and the Food Donation Connection. HMSHost has been donating food to local food banks since 1992, and in 2014 more than 1.8 million food items were donated from 63 airport operations across the country. The food donation program supports the three pillars of the HMSHost’s startsomewhere® sustainability initiative, which are the environment, nutrition and wellness, and community partnerships. HMSHost trains management staff at its airports in the United States to participate in food donation efforts. Each of HMSHost's locations works with their local food donation organization to provide unused meals and prepackaged foods to those organizations. The specific organizations collect the food from HMSHost at the facility and transport it or, in some cases, HMSHost delivers the food to the organization's location.
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- Case Study added by Amy M. on 14-Sep-2015
- Case Study added by Amy M. on 17-Sep-2015
- Edited by Jim S. on 18-Sep-2015
- Edited by Jim S. on 18-Sep-2015
- Link added by Guest .. on 21-Sep-2015
- Link added by Anonymous on 21-Sep-2015
- Link added by Guest .. on 21-Sep-2015
- Link added by Guest .. on 21-Sep-2015
- Link added by Guest .. on 21-Sep-2015
- Edited by Amy M. on 22-Sep-2015
