2025 Johnson County Food Waste Profile

/, /

According to the 2022 Iowa Statewide Material Characterization Study conducted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, approximately 20.4% of what ends up in the Iowa City Landfill is food waste. In 2022, the Iowa City Landfill properly landfilled 130,109.46 tons of garbage from our service area – Johnson County, Kalona, and Riverside. Of that, about 26,542 tons was food waste. 

Why do we want to reduce food waste and keep food out of the landfill?

When food is wasted, it wastes all the resources that went into growing, manufacturing, distributing, and transporting that food. At the landfill, once garbage is compacted into place by our trained Landfill Operators, there is no air (oxygen) or light in a landfill hole. This is the perfect environment for methane, a very potent greenhouse gas, to be produced in the absence of oxygen and in the presence of so many organic materials (food waste). One of the best things each of us can do to take climate action is to reduce food waste.

A great alternative for food waste disposal is composting. While we encourage good, edible food to be eaten as the first priority, we will always have the inevitable banana peels, eggshells, and coffee grounds that we want to responsibly dispose of. Composting is a great option for those items! For a deep dive into composting, check out Table to Table’s website. 

Who is recovering food in Johnson County?

T2T saw up to a 60% increase in the amount of food rescued annually between 2017 and 2022. And that growth has continued! Since 2022, Table to Table has continued to increase the amount of food rescued throughout Johnson County.

Table to Table manages a complex food rescue network throughout Johnson County involving more than 100 food donors and nearly 50 recipient organizations. Food donors include area stores, warehouses, processors, restaurants, farms, markets, and gardeners that donate their unsold or excess food to Table to Table. T2T volunteers deliver this food directly to organizations that are serving our neighbors in need so this food reaches people as quickly as possible.  Our partners report that most T2T food makes it to our neighbors’ homes within 6 hours of our daily deliveries. These organizations include food pantries, shelters, hot meal sites, and youth programs that connect rescued food to our neighbors. Ultimately, people rescue food by eating it: using it for its intended purpose!

In 2024, T2T recovered 2.7 million pounds of food, redirecting it throughout our community where it was needed and feeding more than 22,000 people. More than half of this food is produce, protein, and dairy. Recall that some of the most commonly wasted foods are produce, dairy, and bread. T2T is making a huge local impact in these most-wasted categories!

T2T rescued food provides about half the total food that the three largest local pantries distribute. Plus, recovered food helps provide more options, including vegan and gluten free foods and a variety of produce grown locally.

 

Activities

  1. Help us rescue food in our community! Table to Table is currently in need of fleet and facilities volunteers to help prep vans for food rescue routes, route substitutes for Saturday mornings, and we have a few weekly route positions available if you are looking for a routine volunteering gig. We will also be looking for volunteers to help harvest veggies in farm fields this summer! We have an amazing volunteer network, and we would love for you to join us! Visit table2table.org/volunteers, email volunteer@table2table.org, or call 319-337-3400 for more information
  2. Educate yourself on local options to donate extra food and personal care items. Here are just a few wish lists from organizations serving our neighbors:

 

Resources