Donating Wholesome Unsold Food

Donating Wholesome Unsold Food

Posted by Jimmy Nguyen, USDA Office of Sustainable Development, on November 6, 2014 at 3:00 PM

Liability Concerns Stop Many Restaurants and Supermarkets from Donating Wholesome Unsold Food – Join USDA for a Nov. 12 webinar and learn more about Liability, Food Safety & the Good Samaritan Act.

14.3% of American households found it difficult to put food on the table at some time in 2013, yet 31% of food at the consumer and retail level goes uneaten (USDA ERS).  Of the estimated 133 billion pounds of food that goes uneaten every year, much of it is perfectly safe and nutritious and could have been donated to hunger relief organizations to feed hungry people.  Sadly, much of this perfectly good food ends up in landfills.
How can we change this situation? Many managers at farms, food processors, supermarkets, dining facilities, and restaurants say they are worried about donating wholesome unsold food because of fear of liability.  Some say they don’t have the proper food safety processes in place to handle food recovery and donation programs.
USDA wants to help.  Our upcoming webinar “Donating Unsold Food – A Primer on Liability, Food Safety, & the Good Samaritan Act,” will discuss liability concerns and clear up misconceptions that may keep companies from donating food.  We will talk about food safety and the Good Samaritan Act, the federal statute that gives liability protection to those who donate food.  Our panel of food recovery experts and veterans will also answer your questions during the second half of the webinar.
Webinar: Donating Unsold Food – A Primer on Liability, Food Safety & the Good Samaritan Act
Date: November 12, 2014 (Wednesday)
Time: 2:00 pm EDT – 3:00 pm EDT
Register: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/177734887
Join us for this important webinar and learn how to start recovering & donating your wholesome unsold food!  Register for the webinar here: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/177734887