Los Angeles Announces Food Waste Grant Challenge

Officials for the City of Los Angeles announced a new food waste grant competition at the first ever Food Day LA event at City Hall as part of the city's ongoing efforts to divert waste from landfills.

Project categories include food waste prevention, food donation, upcycled use (including animal feed or fuel) and composting. The total grant pool is expected to reach $100,000 and includes both administrative, and project grants. Ten projects to be submitted from members of the public will be selected.

"We should always be looking for new and innovative ways to reduce waste," Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. "At a time when nearly half a million tons of food is thrown away each year, this grant will help L.A. make sure that our resources are being used as efficiently and sustainably as possible—for the good of all Angelenos."

All Food Waste Grant Challenge proposals are due December 8, 2017. Awards will be announced in mid-December, with a target start date of all projects on January 22, 2018.

"As we continue to fight against climate change, we need to stop sending food to our landfills," Board of Public Works Vice President Heather Marie Repenning said in a statement, "We are challenging our local communities to bring us innovative solutions to help address this problem and end food waste."