The City Council of Cathedral City approved and authorized the City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with FIND Food Bank and allocate funding in the amount of $57,325 annually for a 3-year term to help meet SB 1383 regulatory requirements and provide support to the Cathedral City Edible Food Recovery Program. The funding for this partnership will come from the City’s Environmental Fund.
FIND Food Bank is the Coachella Valley’s Regional Food Bank and has been operating since 1983. FIND has expertise, established systems, a network of volunteers and a history of providing food assistance directly, as well as distribution through other nonprofit organizations.
SB 1383 places commercial edible food generators into two tiers to allow businesses and jurisdictions time to expand or build new food recovery infrastructure and capacity to donate foods that are harder to safely store and distribute. The law requires each jurisdiction in California to establish and monitor a robust food recovery program, which will strengthen the relationships between commercial edible food generators and food recovery organizations within their communities, requiring certain food businesses to send the maximum amount of edible food they would otherwise dispose to food recovery organizations.
Tier One Donors – Required to send surplus food to Food Organizations starting January 1, 2022.
- Supermarkets with revenue ≥ $2 million.
- Grocery Stores with Facilities ≥ 10,000 sq. ft.
- Food Service Providers.
- Food Distributors.
- Wholesale Food Vendors.
Cathedral City has seven (7) Tier One Establishments.
Tier Two Donors – Required to send surplus food to Food Organizations starting January 1, 2024.
- Restaurants with Facilities ≥ 5,000 sq. ft. or 250+ seats
- Hotels with an On-Site Food Facility and 200+ Rooms
- Health Facilities with an On-Site Food Facility and 100+ Beds
- Large Venues and Events
- State Agency Cafeterias with Facilities ≥ 5,000 sq. ft. or 250+ seats
- Local Education Agency with an Onsite Food Facility
- Non-Local Entities
Cathedral City currently has 32 Tier Two Establishments.
To successfully divert edible food from landfill disposal there is considerable infrastructure, systems and staffing needed to include:
- Tracking and coordination of systems.
- Edible food contract management.
- Data collection of types and weights of food recovered.
- Coordination and transportation of food and food safety training.
There would be considerable expense and staffing needed if the City were to implement an effective program internally. To offset these expenses and requirements, a partnership with a food recovery organization like FIND Food Bank will enhance the success, reduce the costs, and ensure compliance by Cathedral City businesses. The partnership with FIND food bank will help the City and its edible food generators meet the SB 1383 requirements, reducing the risk of unnecessary fines.
