The Waste Not OC Coalition (WNOC)

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Overview

WNOC is a public-private partnership comprised of the Orange County Health Department, the Orange County Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank, Food Finders, and private industry with the overall vision to end hunger in Orange County using a three pronged approach: educating the community about food donations, identifying food insecure individuals, and connecting those individuals to sources of food. WNOC partners with food-producing facilities to donate their excess food instead of throwing it away. WNOC partners with Food Finders, an organization that does the work of transporting excess wholesome food from food-producing facilities (hospitals, restaurants, and other businesses) to pantries that serve communities in need. The coalition rescued 61.2 tons of food (approx. 102,000 meals) between July 2014 and March 2015.

Website: http://www.wastenotoc.org/

Photo of WNOC’s nonprofit partner, Food Finders, Presenting the WNOC Seal to the Theo Lacy Jail, which now donates food every month to local pantries as a result of our efforts. Pictured – Diana Lara and Deputy Bill Wagner.

WNOC’s nonprofit partner, Food Finders, Presenting the WNOC Seal to the Theo Lacy Jail, which now donates food every month to local pantries as a result of our efforts. Pictured – Diana Lara and Deputy Bill Wagner.

Photo of Children’s Hospital of Orange County receiving the Waste Not OC window seal- Dr. Eric Handler, Dr. Paul Lubinsky, Matthew Gerlach, Waldo Romero, and Bernadet Garcia-Silva.

Children’s Hospital of Orange County receiving the Waste Not OC window seal- Dr. Eric Handler, Dr. Paul Lubinsky, Matthew Gerlach, Waldo Romero, and Bernadet Garcia-Silva.

Photo of Anaheim Convention Center receives the Waste Not OC Window Seal - From L to R: Debbie Juliani (Director of Marketing and VIP Events), Jim Tripp (General Manager), Bernadet Garcia-Silva (Project Manager, WNOC), Dr. Eric Handler, Patti Larson (Executive Director, Food Finders).

Anaheim Convention Center receives the Waste Not OC Window Seal - From L to R: Debbie Juliani (Director of Marketing and VIP Events), Jim Tripp (General Manager), Bernadet Garcia-Silva (Project Manager, WNOC), Dr. Eric Handler, Patti Larson (Executive Director, Food Finders).

Video

Waste Not OC Promo from Duane Peterson on Vimeo.

Summary of Taking Action

Assessment:

Dr. Eric Handler, the Public Health Officer for Orange County, knew that 1 in 8 people living in his county and 1 in 5 children were at risk for food insecurity. He spoke with local leaders (food bank directors, pantries, and business owners) and determined that while hunger is a large scale systemic problem, thousands of pounds of edible food is still wasted daily in Orange County while pantries experience regular food shortages. The Program Manager for the county’s Food Protection Program in the Orange County Environmental Health Division conducted a survey of food establishments, and realized that businesses incorrectly believed that the health department discouraged food donations for liability reasons. Though not usually involved with addressing the topic of hunger, health inspectors have now become the first point of contact for promoting food donations and educating the business community on how to safely donate food without fear of liability.

Planning:

Community leaders met in 2012 to identify priorities relating to hunger and food waste in Orange County.
Educate the public about hunger and food donations
Increase food donations a) Begin record keeping of pounds of food recovered b) Create a Food Recovery Task Force to follow up with businesses who have been provided with food donation information by health inspectors c) Ensure that at least 14,000 lbs. of food is donated each quarter e) Ensure that five new establishments donate food per quarter
Increase access of food to those who need it: a) Create a Google Map of all of the pantries in OC b) Provide hospitals the tools to identify food insecure individuals c) Ensure that 1 to 2 new pantries are provided with recovered food per quarter
Future Goals: a) Establish a central kitchen to break down donated bulk items into palatable prepared meals for donation b) Establish a culinary arts program for troubled youth c) Support the development of college pantries

Taking Action:

The food industry was asked to play a part to end hunger, and formed a subcommittee of the coalition called the Food Recovery Task Force. This task force is led by a restaurant owner and serves to bridge the gap between the health department and food producing facilities. They follow up with businesses after a visit from a health inspector and are able to “speak the language” and connect valuable contacts in the industry to WNOC. Recent partnerships now include 7-Eleven convenience stores and Yellow Cab Co. of Orange County, which delivers donated food to local pantries. WNOC worked with the American Association of Pediatrics to get the food insecurity screening on its list of top 10 priorities for 2015, presented at the Western Foodservice and Hospitality Expo, and will present at the NEHA AEC*, the NACCHO** Annual Conference, and the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, among others.

*National Environmental Health Association Annual Educational Conference and Exhibition

**National Association of County and City Health Officials

Evaluation:

Evaluation for Waste Not OC is currently a work in progress, since many of our projects are just now breaking ground. 2,554 businesses have been given food donation information from regular health inspections from July 2014 to March 2015 (ongoing), 61.2 tons of food has been donated in that time frame, and Children’s Hospital of Orange County began screening all families for food insecurity in January 2015 (first round of data to arrive in May). The Anaheim City School District began its food donation pilot in three schools in March 2015, and expect to donate food districtwide by fall 2015. Three other school districts are looking to Anaheim City SD as the public school model for food recovery. The impact that we are seeing is an increase in the number of donors and overall community support. We realize that we have just begun to scratch the surface and anticipate exponential growth in the next 6 months.

Sustaining the work:

Educating the community about benefits to donating excess food serves to encourage a sustainable flow of food donations. The benefits reported by food producing facilities include the following: 1) Businesses find where they can improve their operations and reduce the amount of food ordered as soon as they see how much food their business donates. 2) Businesses save costs in waste management. For example, one restaurant reported saving money by eliminating the need for an additional waste bin as a result of donating food every month. 3) Businesses gain positive publicity by earning a WNOC window seal for customers to see, showcasing that they donate excess wholesome food. 4) Businesses can receive tax benefits for their donations. With regard to the food insecurity screening tool and the WNOC map of pantries, 211 OC, a local social services directory and call center, has adopted our map and features it on their website permanently.

Impact/Results

In addition to rescuing 61.2 tons of food between July 2014 and March 2015, the coalition has added 30 pantries to its list of agencies that receive rescued food from Food Finders, granting people access to more food. A total of 35 businesses throughout the cities of Anaheim, Orange, and Tustin donate regularly to pantries and the list continues to grow. These include places such as the Honda Center, the Anaheim Convention Center, Downtown Disney, Kaiser Permanente, and much more. Although it’s in its infancy, WNOC worked with the Children’s Hospital of Orange County to implement the food insecurity screening tool- which comprises of two questions that are asked during intake to assess a patient’s food insecurity status. Families identified as food insecure are then referred to a nearby pantry from the Waste Not OC Pantry Google Map. Data from the screening tool will be available in May 2015.

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