Empire State Development (ESD) has started a $4 million grant program aimed at reducing food waste from large-scale businesses across New York State.
The Business Food Waste Mitigation Grant program is a competitive capital equipment grant program. It will provide funding for municipalities and nonprofit organizations to create or expand food-waste recycling infrastructure to accept food waste from businesses, ESD said in its announcement.
Diverting food waste from landfills “mitigates greenhouse gas emissions, a key priority of the state’s Climate Action Council Scoping Plan,” the agency added.
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The program provides grants in the range of $100,000 to $750,000 to eligible municipalities and nonprofit organizations operating their own food-waste mitigation projects or undertaking projects on a business’s behalf, ESD said.
Eligible projects include the purchase of food processing, management, and transportation equipment that collect and recycle food waste from businesses. Examples of eligible equipment include compactors, dehydrators, depackagers, windrow turners, forklifts, and food-waste collection trucks.
“This grant program is a game-changer for reducing commercial food waste and improving organics recycling infrastructure across New York,” Hope Knight, president, CEO, and commissioner of Empire State Development, said in the announcement. “By funding essential equipment, we’re enabling businesses, municipalities, and non-profits to take meaningful action against food waste and its environmental impact.”
Interested applicants can find more details in the program guidelines and submit their applications through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) portal. For inquiries, those interested can contact FoodWasteMitigation@esd.ny.gov.
