Circular Table didn't start as a feeding program. It started as a climate intervention.
Food waste is one of the largest contributors to methane emissions globally - and methane is 86x more potent than CO2 over 20 years. In California, SB 1383 mandates organic waste diversion because the environmental cost of food going to landfill is not acceptable.
But diversion alone doesn't close the loop. Most "recovered" food is still underutilized collected, donated, then wasted again at the next stage. Circular Table was designed to go all the way through: recovery, processing, utilization, byproduct capture, and data tracking across the entire pipeline.
Feeding people was the output of solving for utilization. The environment was the entry point.
What Circular Table Actually Is
Circular Table is a licensed operational framework — not a program, not a charity, not a kitchen.
It is a replicable methodology for converting recoverable food into prepared meals and upcycled products.
The model is significant not just because it works — but because it works using public assets communities have already paid for. Cities own kitchens. Parks own facilities. The infrastructure is already there. Circular Table is the coordination layer that activates it.
The methodology covers:
• Supplier and recoverable food routing
• Facility activation and kitchen protocols
• Worker training and human-centered operations
• Byproduct upcycling — nothing wasted, nothing composted
• Blast-chill and pre-positioned resilience storage
• Real-time data capture across the full recovery chain
It runs on what already exists:
• Space that already exists — city-owned kitchens, Parks & Rec facilities, underused restaurant kitchens
• Workers already in the community — including workforce re-entry populations, paid fairly
• Surplus food already being generated — currently going to landfill
• Coordination infrastructure — Sameritan's routing and tracking tools
We Heard:
"Groceries are too high for me to be trying new recipes I may mess up"
"I received produce from a community event I didn't know how to cook"
"You don't just get food assistance because you lost your home in a fire"
"The place they sent us doesn't have a kitchen. What about us?"
Real comments.
Real barriers.
Real reasons why prepared meals became the next step — despite stricter health and legal requirements than grocery giveaways.
THE PROOF IS IN THE NUMBERS
First operational run. Los Angeles. In response to the Eaton Fire.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
~3 tons
food diverted from landfill
~90%
utilization rate
CO2e avoided
6,450 lbs
every byproduct became a product
Zero waste
SB 1383 aligned — organic waste diversion mandate
COST EFFICIENCY
Standard contract
$40
12–16 oz per person
Circular Table
$7–11
30–52 oz per person
Every worker paid $23–30/hr throughout
120–200
individuals served weekly
1,000+
meals produced
$23–30/hr
wages paid to all workers
Eaton Fire
community served
Circular Table x Circular Lab
Some items recovered during sourcing can’t be given out unless there’s confidence they would be used immediately. Upcycling extends their shelf life by at least six months.
We’ve already created juices, sauces, baked goods, and other shelf-stable items (via dehydration) as part of recipe-testing for what’s next. We’re currently upcycling soft bananas into silverware and banana leather.
Our goal is to turn by-products into new revenue streams and micro-industries for local communities.
