This is a question we get asked all of the time. The great answer is that state and federal laws protect organizations from liability whenever they donate food they believe to be safe. Good faith food donors are not subject to civil and criminal liability should the product later cause harm to its recipient.
FYI, in eight years of operating Food Connection we've never had one complaint that the food received was bad. Not one.
Learn more about the "Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act."
The Food Donation Improvement Act has been passed by the House and Senate through Bipartisan support and will soon be signed into law by President Biden.
“The Food Donation Improvement Act will bring all businesses, ranging from large corporations to small and independent restaurants, into the fight against food insecurity,” Grubhub Vice President of Government Affairs Amy Healy said in a statement.
Let's goooooooo!
The federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act provides liability protection for food donors, and North Carolina’s Immunity from Liability for Food Donations law provides additional liability protection to businesses and non-profits in the state. Click this link created by the NC Department of Environmental Quality and Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic.
Pull up a chair. Here's an in depth look! "The Legal Guide to the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act Bill" by James Haley from the University of Arkansas School of Law. He's a smart dude who is very invested in educating folks about food recovery. We are food recovery nerds. He's speaking our language.
Food Connection was recently in Washington D.C.to fight food waste and insecurity through advocating for the Food Donation Improvement Act! This bill will was PASSED in December of 2022 which is HUGE news for food movement. The bill clarifies and expands protections in the Bill Emerson law and incentivizes even more businesses/farmers/institutions to donate food!
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Food Connection was recently in Washington D.C. to fight food waste and insecurity through advocating for the Food Donation Improvement Act! This bill will clarify and expand protections in the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1996 and incentivize even more businesses/farmers/institutions to donate, instead of discard, their perfectly good food.
UPDATE: January 5, 2023 BIDEN SIGNS THE FOOD DONATION IMPROVEMENT ACT INTO LAW!