City of Montebello Food Recovery and Donation Page

In July of 2017, our City Council adopted Resolution 17-62 addressing food waste and food recovery from within the City boarders and reaffirmed its commitment by adopting Resolution 20-97 in December 2020, which also requires the integration of edible food waste. 

On December 8, 2021, Ordinance No. 2445, passed, approved, and adopted by the City Council, enacting a new Chapter 8.13 ("Organic Waste Disposal Reduction") to Title 8 ("Health and Safety") establishing, among other provisions, that all commercial business and multiple-family residential premises must subscribe to the City’s Organic waste collection services and comply with the requirements of those services. 

Under the City’s program, collection activities will be expanded to include all areas of recovery including, commercial, industrial, multi-family, and residential. The expanded program will fall under two general categories, commercial and residential.  The information reflected below relates to the commercial aspects of food recovery.

All collection locations participating in the program will be provided with compliant food scrap bins and containers and material to prevent foul smell or contamination by vermin, rodents, or insects. Our volunteers and staff will collect edible food (Cooked and uncooked) collected from Tier 1 and Tier 2 establishments back to the City and/or our partners for planned distribution within hours of collection. Utilizing insulated heating and holding cabinets, the precooked food will be examined for applicable guidelines and prepared for distribution to others in the community via insulated food recovery bags, containers, and equipment, for delivery and distribution at other locations.

Working with local nonprofit organizations, food banks, food pantries, shelters, and other like entities, edible food recovered will be collected, inventoried, processed, and or stored for distribution to others or as part of a larger food donation give-away program.

Edible Food Drop-off Locations

We are also establishing drop off locations where commercial businesses licensed to conduct business within the City will be able to drop off edible food for distribution to others. These locations are listed below:

To provide further clarification please refer to the definitions below:

“Commercial edible food generator” includes a Tier One or a Tier Two commercial edible food generator as defined below.  For the purposes of this program, food recovery organizations and food recovery services are not commercial edible food generators.

"Tier One Commercial Edible Food Generator" means a Commercial Edible Food Generator that is one of the following:

     1. Supermarket.

     2. Grocery Store with a total facility size equal to or greater than 10,000 Square-feet.

     3. Food Service Provider.

     4. Food Distributor.

     5. Wholesale Food Vendor.

“Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generator" means a Commercial Edible Food Generator that is one of the following:

     1. Restaurant with 250 or more seats, or a total facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet.

     2. Hotel with an on-site Food Facility and 200 or more rooms.

     3. Health facility with an on-site Food Facility and 100 or more beds.

     4. Large Venue.

     5. Large Event.

     6. A State agency with a cafeteria with 250 or more seats or total cafeteria facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet.

     7. A Local Education Agency facility with an on-site Food Facility.

“Edible food” means food intended for human consumption. For the purposes of this program, “edible food” is not solid waste if it is recovered and not discarded. Nothing in this program requires or authorizes the recovery of edible food that does not meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.

"Edible Food" means food intended for human consumption, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(18).

"Food Distributor" means a company that distributes food to entities including, but not limited to, Supermarkets and Grocery Stores, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(22).

"Food Recovery" means actions to collect and distribute food for human consumption that otherwise would be disposed, or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(24).

“Food recovery organization” means an entity that engages in the collection or  receipt of edible food from commercial edible food generators and distributes that edible food to the public for food recovery either directly or through other entities including, but not limited to: 

• A food bank as defined in Section 113783 of the Health and Safety Code; 
• A nonprofit charitable organization as defined in Section 113841 of the Health and Safety code; and,
• A nonprofit charitable temporary food facility as defined in Section 113842 of the Health and Safety Code. A Food Recovery Organization is not a Commercial Edible Food Generator for the purposes of this ordinance and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12 pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(7).

"Food Recovery Service" means a person or entity that collects and transports Edible Food from a Commercial Edible Food Generator to a Food Recovery Organization or other entities for Food Recovery, or as otherwise defined in CCR Section 18982(a)(26). A Food Recovery Service is not a Commercial Edible Food Generator for the purposes of this ordinance and implementation of 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 12 pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(7).

"Food Scraps" means all food such as, but not limited to, fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry,  seafood, shellfish, bones, rice, beans, pasta, bread, cheese, and eggshells. Food Scraps excludes fats, oils, and grease when such materials are Source Separated from other Food Scraps.

"Food Waste" means Food Scraps, Food-Soiled Paper, and 100% fiber-based compostable dinnerware.

“Grocery store” means a store primarily engaged in the retail sale of canned food; dry goods; fresh fruits and vegetables; fresh meats, fish, and poultry; and any area that is not separately owned within the store where the food is prepared and 20 served, including a bakery, deli, and meat and seafood departments.