When people think about climate solutions, food rescue may not be the first strategy that comes to mind.
Every tray of catered leftovers, unopened carton of milk, or untouched produce item that gets redirected instead of discarded helps prevent greenhouse gas emissions before they begin.
The connection starts with what happens when food is thrown away. Once surplus food ends up in a landfill, it begins to break down in conditions without oxygen. This decomposition process produces methane, a greenhouse gas that traps significantly more heat than carbon dioxide in the short term.
Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States. Within that larger emissions challenge, food plays an outsized role. 58% of fugitive methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills come from landfilled food waste.
That makes food rescue one of the most immediate and practical ways to reduce emissions.
Why food waste creates an outsized climate impact
Food waste breaks down faster than many other landfill materials, which means methane is often released before gas collection systems are fully in place or able to capture it efficiently. That’s why wasted food in the United States causes greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 50 million gas-powered passenger vehicles each year.
In Memphis, this impact is closer to home. The South Shelby Landfill alone generated an estimated 404,456.8 metric tons of methane emissions in 2023, placing it among the top five emitting municipal landfills in Tennessee. Data also shows detectable methane plumes above local landfill sites, underscoring that these emissions are not fully contained — they are released into the surrounding environment and into nearby communities.
Residents living near these sites face higher exposure to air pollutants and associated health risks, including respiratory issues and other long-term health challenges. In areas surrounding the South Shelby landfill, rates of food insecurity, health vulnerabilities, and environmental burdens are already higher than state averages, compounding the impact of these emissions.
And the environmental cost starts even earlier. When food is wasted, so are all of the resources used to produce it — water, farmland, energy, packaging, transportation, refrigeration, and labor. By the time a prepared meal or ingredient reaches a restaurant kitchen, school cafeteria, or event venue, it already carries a significant environmental footprint. Sending that food to the landfill compounds the problem.
The emissions solution already in our food system
Food rescue changes the end-of-life pathway for food. Instead of moving from kitchen to trash to landfill, food moves from surplus to solution.
Prepared trays from events can support shelters. Extra produce can reach community kitchens. Unopened packaged foods can move through pantries, schools, or mutual aid networks. Every successful rescue keeps food from decomposing in a landfill and prevents the methane emissions that would follow.
This is why food rescue should be viewed as both a community resilience strategy and a climate strategy.
How Project Green Fork turns rescue into emissions reduction
In Memphis, Project Green Fork is working to make this system shift possible by connecting food businesses, schools, and institutions with nonprofit partners that are ready to redistribute surplus food.
Using tools like Careit, PGF helps donors quickly post available food and coordinate pickups so that items move safely and efficiently to where they are needed most.
Every tray rescued means fewer methane-generating organics in the landfill. Every share table item redistributed at a school means less wasted packaging, less disposal, and more efficient use of the food already prepared. At scale, these operational changes become meaningful emissions reductions.
Just as importantly, they strengthen Memphis’ local food system by ensuring more food reaches people rather than becoming waste.
A climate solution hiding in plain sight
Food rescue is often framed as a hunger issue, and it absolutely is. But it is also one of the most accessible climate actions available to businesses, schools, and institutions.
It doesn’t require new technology or major infrastructure. It starts with better coordination, stronger partnerships, and a commitment to seeing surplus food as a resource instead of waste.
When more Memphis organizations embrace food rescue, the benefits ripple outward, leading to fewer emissions, stronger nonprofits, lower disposal costs, and a more connected community.
Some of the most powerful climate solutions are already sitting on our shelves, in our kitchens, and on our serving lines.
