State law to reduce food waste has Bay Area food banks starving for better distribution

SECOND HARVEST OF Silicon Valley has experienced one of the busiest years in its 48-year history this year, due to the state’s first food waste law and the ongoing hunger crisis since the pandemic.

On a recent day, 52 volunteers worked the morning shift in Second Harvest’s warehouse located at 4001 N. First St. in San Jose, sorting through potatoes, carrots, lettuce and many other fresh foods donated daily from grocery stores, farmers’ markets and restaurants. Carefully, the volunteers inspected the cargo, removing items no longer edible, such as onions with broken skin and apples with mold.