TO:Andrew P. Powers, City Manager
FROM:Nader Heydari, Public Works Director
DATE:March 10, 2026
SUBJECT: Food Recovery Hub Grant Award and Memorandum of Understanding
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Award a grant in the amount of $325,000 [grant funding from California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) for a Senate Bill (SB) 1383 Local Assistance Grant] and approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Adelante Comunidad Conejo, Inc. (Adelante) (Thousand Oaks, CA).
2. Authorize expenditure in FY 2025-26 in the amount of $325,000 from A/C #631- 8420-682-5920 (SB1383, Solid Waste Fund – Parts & Materials/Other) for the proposed food recovery hub located at 1335 Calle Bouganvilla in Thousand Oaks.
3. Find that this action is not a project as defined under the California Environmental Quality Act.
LEVINE ACT ITEM: Yes
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No Additional Funding Requested. $326,482 is included in the Adopted FY 2025-26 Solid Waste Fund Budget for the food recovery hub from grant funds awarded by CalRecycle. The remaining $1,482 will be used for SB 1383 implementation.
BACKGROUND:
In September 2016, California SB 1383 was signed into law. SB 1383 required a 50 percent reduction in organic waste disposal by 2020 and 75 percent by 2025.
Final rulemaking was completed in November 2020, with regulations going into effect on January 1, 2022. Under the new law, jurisdictions are required to provide organics collection services to all residents and businesses, establish an edible food recovery program, procure recyclable and recovered organic products, monitor compliance, and conduct enforcement.
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SB 1383 requires jurisdictions to develop an edible food recovery program, which includes assessing local food recovery capacity. As a result, City staff has coordinated with a local network of community-based, non-profit organizations who operate food recovery and distribution services to those in need (food recovery organizations). City staff hold regular meetings with these food recovery organizations to strategize on how to support each other and expand services.
Over the past three years, these organizations have helped City staff understand the capacity and needs of our food pantries and the needs of those facing food insecurity locally. Additionally, in 2024, the County of Ventura‘s (County) 2024 Capacity Plan identified a regional gap in food recovery capacity in the County.
In September 2023, CalRecycle opened applications for a second grant cycle for the SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant Program. The grant is intended to support implementation of SB 1383 regulatory requirements, and eligible activities include edible food recovery, capacity planning, and education and outreach. On November 14, 2023, the City submitted an SB 1383 grant application (FY 2022- 23) to CalRecycle. On February 26, 2024, CalRecycle notified the City of an award of $326,482, which was received on May 29, 2024. City Council accepted the funds at its July 2, 2024, meeting. Funds must be expended by November 2, 2026.
Initially, grant funding was intended to be used towards construction of a new, City- owned and operated food recovery storage facility, including the purchase of three mobile refrigerated trailers. The City determined that building and operating its own food recovery hub was not feasible due to financial constraints and construction site challenges. Staff subsequently formulated a new plan whereby the City would use the grant funds to support an existing facility operated by a local non-profit food recovery organization instead. A food recovery hub in the City run by a local non-profit food recovery organization would comply with CalRecycle grant funding requirements and assist the City with SB 1383 compliance.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Currently, within Thousand Oaks, many food recovery organizations lack the physical capacity to collect additional food from edible food generators due to space limitations or lease restrictions. To address this, the City explored opportunities to expand food recovery capacity, including new locations, additional dry and cold storage, and other strategies that support increased food recovery and distribution to City residents.
A local food recovery hub, which is a centralized location for food recovery collection and storage, would assist the City with SB 1383 compliance, implementation of the Climate and Environmental Action Plan (CEAP) (CEAP Measure SW1.2: Reduce waste of edible food through establishment of a food Food Recovery Hub Grant Award and MOU
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recovery program and storage facility), and the solid waste fund performance measure #20 (annual percentage increase in the volume of food recovered and distributed through food banks to local families based on the 2024 volume). The proposed hub will support local food recovery organizations by expanding their existing edible food recovery storage capacity and providing mobile refrigeration.
On December 11, 2025, in order to address the need for increased edible food recovery capacity, in consultation with Purchasing and City Attorney staff, the City solicited grant proposals from all food recovery organizations and services based within the City of Thousand Oaks to help expand local capacity. Due to the limited pool of eligible grant recipients, the grant proposal solicitation was emailed directly to all Thousand Oaks-based non-profit food recovery organizations who distribute food in the City. The CalRecycle grant is tied to SB 1383 implementation, which means grant recipients must be located and working within the City limits, and the time restraints of the grant require that recipients are already providing some service and are capable of expansion quickly. The proposal submission deadline was January 14, 2026. Funding for the food recovery hub is a pass-through connected to the CalRecycle SB 1383 Local Assistance Grant Program funds accepted by City Council in July 2024. Funds will be distributed in lump sums according to the following schedule: $150,000 upon execution of the MOU, and up to $175,000 in reimbursement upon receipt of proof of purchase of the vehicle and trailer(s) for a total of $325,000. Any funds not spent on the vehicle and trailer(s) will be provided as a final lump sum amount after proof of purchase has been confirmed and reimbursement payment has been provided to the Service Provider.
This model creates operational efficiency with a food recovery organization that has already fostered community trust, expertise and local employment.
The grant proposal request included, but was not limited to, the following requirements: plans for implementation and operation of a food recovery hub, a budget worksheet, and letters of support from partner food recovery organizations.
The City received two proposal submissions, from Adelante and Manna Conejo Valley food Bank (Manna). The submission from Manna was missing material information required by the solicitation request and was therefore deemed incomplete.
Staff evaluated Adelante’s proposal for numerous factors, including accessibility, facility functionality, relationship building and collaboration with food recovery organizations, ability to operate a food recovery hub within a limited timeframe, overall project and ongoing operational feasibility, increased capacity, reasonableness of cost, and ease of use. Based on these factors and the letters of support received, Adelante was selected as the grant recipient.
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The terms of the CalRecycle grant require that the City enter into a service agreement with any subrecipient of these grant funds. This agreement is intended to set out the specific requirements for the use of the funds and also ensure that the City receives the necessary reporting to fulfill its obligations to CalRecycle.
Staff recommends approval of the proposed MOU (Attachment #1) between the City and Adelante to satisfy that service agreement requirement, reporting requirements under SB 1383, and funding and timeline requirements within the CalRecycle grant.
The recommended actions meet City Council’s Top Ten Priority #8 — “Environmental Sustainability.”
LEVINE ACT (California Government Code § 84308):
This item is subject to the Levine Act. City Councilmembers who have received a campaign contribution of more than $500 (aggregated) within the preceding 12 months from a party or their agent/representative, or a financially-interested participant involved in this proceeding may do either of the following: (1) disclose the contribution on the record and recuse themselves from this proceeding; or if applicable (2) return the portion of the contribution that exceeds $500 within 30 days from the time the official knew or should have known about the contribution, and participate in the proceeding.
All parties and their agents/representatives must disclose on the record of this proceeding any aggregated contribution of more than $500 made to any Councilmember within the preceding 12 months. Councilmembers are prohibited from accepting, soliciting, or directing a campaign contribution of more than $500 (aggregated) from a party, their agent/representative, or a financially-interested participant during a proceeding and for 12 months following the date a final decision is made. In addition, a party, their agent/representative, or a financially- interested participant is prohibited from contributing more than $500 (aggregated) to a Councilmember during a proceeding and for 12 months following the date a final decision is made. The completed Levine Act Form for Adelante is included as Attachment #2.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE:
Meets the following City Council goals:
C. Operate City government in a fiscally and managerially responsible and prudent manner to ensure that the City of Thousand Oaks remains one of California's most desirable places to live, work, visit, recreate, and raise a family.
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F. Provide and enhance essential infrastructure to ensure that the goals and policies of the Thousand Oaks General Plan are carried out and the City retains its role and reputation as a leader in protecting the environment and preserving limited natural resources.
PREPARED BY: Sarah McGurk, Sustainability Analyst
Attachments:
Attachment #1 – MOU between City and Adelante
Attachment #2 – Levine Act Form for Adelante
DPW: 810-60\ev\Council\2026\031026\Food Recovery Hub and MOU staff report.docx