By Alba Velasquez, Executive Director, LA Food Policy Council

Every day in Los Angeles, perfectly good food is thrown away while thousands of families struggle with food insecurity. At LAFPC, we believe there’s a better way. Through strategic partnerships and targeted investments, we’ve helped rescue over 5.3 million pounds of food, ensuring that fresh, nutritious meals reach the people who need them most.

This work doesn’t stop here. We’re continuing to support the Los Angeles Food Recovery Alliance, a growing coalition of over 30 organizations working together to scale food recovery, expand storage and distribution, and build a more just and sustainable food system. With collaboration and bold action, we can make sure good food feeds people not landfills.

Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC) has been at the forefront of transforming food recovery efforts in LA, ensuring more food reaches people who need it rather than going to waste. Through a collaborative effort with LA Sanitation and Rising Communities, LAFPC helped distribute both microgrants and macrogrants to food recovery organizations, strengthening their capacity to serve. Here’s how our work has made a tangible impact:

Big Wins in Food Recovery

• Over 5.3 million pounds of food recovered! Through our grant initiatives, food recovery partners collectively saved 3.5 million meals from being wasted.

• 92 new food donors added. Thanks to FoodCycle’s expanded network, more organizations now have access to surplus food.

• New food hubs established. Hollywood Food Coalition secured a dedicated space for a shared cold storage hub, supporting multiple partners in food recovery.

• Smarter distribution. FEAST’s “Reclaimed Flavors Cookbook” helped families learn how to cook with recovered ingredients like eggplant, reducing waste at the consumer level.

• Equipment and training investments. Microgrants enabled organizations to purchase forklifts, refrigeration units, and food safety equipment, increasing efficiency and safety in food recovery.

Collaboration: The Key to Success

One of the biggest takeaways from this initiative was the power of collaboration:

• Monthly LA Food Recovery Alliance meetings helped organizations share resources, coordinate transportation, and solve logistical challenges.

• Food recovery hubs, like the one established by FoodCycle, allowed smaller organizations to share refrigeration and storage space, ensuring that food stayed fresh longer.

• Organizations facing unexpected hurdles—such as Hollywood Food Coalition’s struggle to secure a food hub location—found ways to adapt and push forward with support from the broader food recovery network.

Challenges & Lessons Learned

While the grants led to significant wins, they also highlighted ongoing challenges:

• Weather disruptions (like heavy rains) affected farmers’ markets, limiting available produce.

• Administrative burdens weighed heavily on small organizations, making it harder to scale food recovery efforts.

• Prepared food recovery remains a gap. Many organizations are equipped to handle produce and shelf-stable goods but lack the infrastructure to recover and safely store prepared meals.

What’s Next?

Looking ahead, LAFPC is committed to addressing these challenges by:

• Advocating for more shared storage and food hubs to make food recovery more efficient.

• Supporting prepared food recovery infrastructure to align with new SB 1383 requirements.

• Strengthening administrative support for small food recovery organizations so they can grow sustainably.

The work isn’t done yet, but thanks to the collective effort of LAFPC, our partners, and the incredible food recovery organizations across LA, we’re making huge strides toward a more sustainable and food-secure future.