EPA and S.F. Environment Spotlight Super Bowl Efforts to Feed the Hungry
Food Runners is a key player in local food recovery work

On Wednesday, February 3, EPA Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld was joined by San Francisco Department of the Environment Director Debbie Raphael, Food Runners Director Mary Risley, and HealthRIGHT 360 CEO Vitka Eisen to discuss local food recovery efforts, which align with the City of San Francisco's zero waste focus, during Super Bowl 50.

Leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, San Francisco will be the site of countless Super Bowl events, with tens of thousands of people enjoying the local cuisine. Food recovery efforts, such as those led by the local nonprofit Food Runners, will help ensure that resulting excess food is kept out of bay area landfills and provided to people in need.

Every year Americans throw away more food than any other type of waste, almost 35 million tons, and much of it still edible. As food rots in a landfill, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. At the same time, one in six Americans lack access to the nutrition they need to live an active, healthy life.

San Francisco actively promotes food recovery and has implemented mandatory green event and composting ordinances. Food Runners San Francisco recovers 17 tons of food each week, providing it to agencies that feed those in need.