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  2. Sustainable Management of Food

Technical Methodology for the Excess Food Opportunities Map

This report presents the methodology behind development of U.S. EPA's Excess Food Opportunities Map, which supports diversion of excess food from landfills. You can use the information presented by this map to inform waste management at the local level and identify potential sources of organic feedstocks, infrastructure gaps and disposal alternatives to landfill. The methodology describes identification of select industrial, commercial and institutional sources in the United States that potentially generate excess food, estimates of excess food generated at the establishment level and identification of potential recipients of excess food. As noted in the report, the peer review for the methodology was internal to EPA.

Below you can access the methodologies for Version 1.0, Version 2.0, Version 2.1, and Version 3.0 of the map as well as the new Version 3.1 of the map. Please refer to the Frequent Questions for a summary of changes made in Version 3.1 of the map.

  • Excess Food Opportunities Map (Version 3.1) – Technical Methodology (pdf) (1.23 MB, March 2025)
  • Excess Food Opportunities Map (Version 3.0) - Technical Methodology (pdf) (1.43 MB, August 2023)
  • Excess Food Opportunities Map (Version 2.1) - Technical Methodology (pdf) (1.02 MB, April 2020 )
  • Excess Food Opportunities Map (Version 2.0) - Technical Methodology (pdf) (1.77 MB, March 2019)
  • Excess Food Opportunities Map (Version 1.0) - Technical Methodology (pdf) (1.73 MB, April 2018)

Sustainable Management of Food

  • Basics
  • Wasted Food Scale
    • Feeding Animals
  • Prevention through Source Reduction
  • Donating Food
  • Composting
    • Approaches to Composting
    • Benefits of Using Compost
    • Start a Composting Program
    • Composting at Home
    • Community Composting
  • Anaerobic Digestion
  • Preventing Wasted Food at Home
  • Tools for Preventing and Diverting Wasted Food
  • Funding Opportunities and EPA Programs Related to the Food System
  • Local and Regional Resources
  • Data on Wasted Food in the U.S.
Contact Us About Sustainable Management of Food
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on March 13, 2025
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