Reducing food waste could be one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to cut climate pollution in New York. A new statewide coalition launching today — the New York Food Waste Action Network — aims to do just that.
The coalition brings together farmers, businesses, hunger relief organizations and environmental advocates to reduce the amount of food sent to landfills, where it generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The goal: curb emissions while redirecting more surplus food to communities in need.
New Yorkers waste roughly 22,000 metric tons of food each year, costing households an estimated $141 million in lost grocery spending. When that food ends up in landfills, it produces significant emissions — accounting for more than half of landfill methane statewide.
“This is something, as you can imagine, I’m incredibly excited about,” said Niamh Moore, director of Healthy Communities at Environmental Advocates NY. “The Food Waste Action Network is a group of environmental climate and food rescue organizations who all come together to reduce the amount of food that New Yorkers are wasting, which will save us money, help reduce emissions and really hopefully get through to those who most need it.”
A Statewide Coalition
Founding partners include City Harvest, Island Harvest Food Bank, Earthjustice, and Environmental Advocates NY. “Our mission is clear,” Moore said. “What we want to do is we want to influence New York State and local food waste policy so that we can increase food access, stop the flow of food to landfills and reduce unnecessary methane emissions.”
Why Food Waste Is “Low-Hanging Fruit” for Climate Action
Moore calls food waste “low-hanging fruit” in the fight against climate change.
“It’s really low-hanging fruit because food waste simply doesn’t have to happen,” she said. “We can stop buying food that we don’t need. We can donate excess food before it goes out of date so that we can get it to those most in need and stop it going to landfills.”
When food decomposes in landfills, it releases methane — a greenhouse gas far more powerful than carbon dioxide in the near term.
“Methane is a powerful and potent greenhouse gas that I’m not sure if folks are aware, but it’s 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide, particularly over the first 20 years of it reaching the atmosphere,” Moore said. “Even though carbon dioxide has longer lasting effects, methane itself drives the pace for global warming in the near term.”
She added: “When we think about getting food out of landfills, that’s a real positive step in the right direction to stop methane from being produced to begin with.”
Addressing Hunger Alongside Emissions
The coalition is also focused on food access. “It can be real easy to look at food waste and just look at the climate perspective,” Moore said. “But also look at folks who are limited in their access to food and not think about what ways we could increase the access that it gets to them.”
“At every level, whether it be at a farm, a kitchen table or in a food bank, when we waste food, it just means people are going to go hungry. It’s simple demand,” she said. “If we can keep it out of landfills, we can increase the opportunity that folks have to donate this food to partners like City Harvest or Island Harvest, who are incredible at getting it to those who most need it.”
Confusing Food Date Labels
One policy priority for the coalition is standardizing food date labeling. Currently, most food date labels are not federally regulated, leading to widespread confusion.
“We’ve heard from so many people that they’re not aware that food date labels aren’t federally regulated,” Moore said. “The vast majority of states aren’t regulating them either apart from California. As a result, we have seen research that states that about 20% of edible food that is wasted is a direct result of confusion around food date labeling,” she said. “When people don’t understand what a label means, how can we expect them to understand if the food is safe or not?”
Moore points to new legislation in California, which will standardize food date labels starting January 1, 2027. She hopes New York will follow suit. “We should have simpler labeling available to folks so that we’re not throwing out perfectly good foods that many New Yorkers could eat,” she said.
What New Yorkers Can Do Now
For individuals, Moore says change starts at home.
“When you’re looking at the dates on a package, try to remember right now we don’t have any regulation around the terms that are used,” she said. “If you see ‘packaged on,’ ‘sell by,’ ‘use by’ — any of these different 60-plus different terms that are out there — just remember they’re not regulated. What you do need to do though is use your senses — use your taste, your smell, your eyes — to understand whether food is fresh and safe to eat,” she said. “You’ll be able to throw a lot less away by doing this. You’ll be able to have a lot more food available for your family to eat and you’ll be able to have a really big impact on this food waste and climate crisis that we’re experiencing right now.”
Image Credit: New York Food Waste Initiative/Environmental Advocates NY