WEST CONCORD, MA - Divert, Inc., a circular economy company on a mission to prevent food from being wasted, and The Raley’s Companies, a purpose-driven food company, announced a partnership to address food insecurity and advance a circular food system in California and Nevada through reducing wasted food in Raley’s stores and increasing donations.

Raley’s implemented Divert’s platform in all of its 118 retail store locations across California and Nevada. Achieving 100% store participation in one month has enabled Raley’s to improve upon their foundational landfill diversion program, while also improving food recovery efforts to get more fresh food to those in need. The 100% participation from stores was enabled by Divert’s IoT tracking and actionable data insights in combination with co-training on the platform and store walkthroughs with personnel in the Feeding America® network of local food banks.

The partnership also creates operational reliability and a comprehensive approach to compliance with California’s SB 1383 regulations, allowing the company to increase focus on donation and waste reduction efforts.

“Divert is proud to work with Raley's to advance our shared vision of a circular economy for unsold food," said Ben Kuethe Oaks, VP and GM, Retail, Divert, in the recent release. "Our work together is demonstrating the tremendous opportunity retailers have to go beyond landfill diversion alone and further reduce waste by uncovering donation opportunities that benefit the local community.”

This partnership between Divert and Raley’s is tackling food insecurity and advancing a circular food system across Northern California and Nevada. Divert’s insights enabled Raley’s to further expand its donation guidelines and best practices to a wider range of fresh food, which has resulted in increased donations of nutritious, fresh food to people in need. Meanwhile, any unsold food that can’t be donated is taken to Divert’s Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility in Turlock, CA and transformed into carbon-negative renewable energy to power the community and soil amendment to return valuable nutrients back to the earth to support future food growth.

"Raley's has long been committed to using resources responsibly and supporting our neighbors when they need it most," said Natalie Slatter, Raley’s VP of Operations. "Our relationship with Divert is nourishing our communities, our planet, and helping our customers live happier, healthier lives. We're thrilled to be making this announcement during Hunger Action Month® and look forward to the continued positive impact of Raley's donation programs."

With 47 million people facing hunger in the U.S., Hunger Action Month is a tremendous opportunity to raise awareness of the hunger crisis in America. According to Feeding America, over 2 billion pounds of donatable unsold food is rescued annually through grocery retailers with almost a billion more pounds to be rescued.

Divert currently works with more than 2,000 retail locations in California and has dedicated expansion plans in the state. The company recently opened its new Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility in Turlock, California, to support rapidly growing demand from its customer base.

To learn more about Divert, please click here.