Solana Center and Encinitas staff report SB 1383 outreach, inspections increased food donations but barriers persist

Encinitas 'At the March meeting of the Encinitas Environmental Commission, representatives from the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation and city staff described progress and remaining challenges implementing California's SB 1383 edible-food recovery requirements in the San Diego region and in Encinitas.

The nut graf: Solana Center staff told commissioners their outreach and technical assistance are increasing the number of regulated food businesses with donation programs, but municipal enforcement, logistics and supply-chain constraints still limit recovery. City staff said Encinitas has been among the more proactive jurisdictions in enforcement and that usual enforcement tools (grace periods, notices of violation) are being applied; no local citations with monetary fines had been issued as of the meeting.

What Solana Center reported

Jessica Toth, executive director of the Solana Center, said the nonprofit helps translate SB 1383's donation mandate into practice for businesses and provides outreach, inspections and technical assistance. She said Solana Center classifies businesses into tiers, helps them secure food-recovery partners, and addresses operational issues that prevent donations from reaching food banks.

Toth highlighted a multi-city case involving Hollandia Dairy: before inspection the dairy donated roughly 2% of its surplus (about 4,500 pounds per year); after Solana Center and staff engagement the dairy began donating over a quarter‑million pounds annually, much of it dairy products in demand at food banks. Toth said the dairy reduced hauling costs because food banks began picking up product rather than the company hauling it for animal feed.

Data and effectiveness

Skyler Engie, a UC San Diego master's student working with Solana Center data, said the nonprofit had 342 interactions with businesses in San Diego County. On their first interaction 52% of businesses had a program with a food-recovery organization. Of 126 businesses that had multiple interactions, 82% implemented a program by the final interaction. Engie said Solana Center interactions correlated with roughly a 30% increase in the total number of businesses with programs among the group studied.

City enforcement and practical barriers

Larissa Amaral, the city associate manager who oversees the Encinitas SB 1383 contract work, told the commission that Encinitas has been proactive in enforcement and that most businesses that failed inspections came into compliance during a city-defined grace period. She said a small number reached the Notice of Violation (NOV) stage, but none had advanced to citations carrying monetary fines.

Amaral and Toth identified ongoing barriers: high staff turnover in restaurants and food businesses makes training and follow-up difficult; corporate policies at multi-site chains sometimes prevent local managers from donating goods; transportation and logistics can interrupt pickups (for example, crates not returned or inconsistent pick-up schedules); prepared-food donations present challenges for food-safety rules and available receiving partners; and compost/processing capacity for organic diversion remains constrained.

How enforcement works

Amaral clarified that the Solana Center conducts compliance verification and technical assistance but does not issue enforcement actions. Local enforcement (NOVs and citations) is handled by the city according to its municipal code; some jurisdictions use code enforcement and others use department staff, Amaral said. She noted the city can tailor the length of grace periods and that timely follow-up after inspections appears to increase compliance.

Why it matters

SB 1383 requires regulated businesses to partner with food recovery organizations and to maximize edible-food recovery as part of state efforts to reduce organics in landfill waste. The Solana Center's data indicate hands-on nonprofit assistance plus municipal follow-up can materially increase donations, but the Solana Center and city staff warned that sustained funding, logistical coordination and access to willing food recovery partners are crucial to scaling results.

Next steps

Solana Center staff recommended continued outreach, support for business-level solutions (including incentives where feasible), and coordination across jurisdictions and CalRecycle for corporate-policy barriers. City staff said they are exploring options such as including SB 1383 compliance into business-license workflows to reach businesses at onboarding.