Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996

What I came to learn is that the government, not only is food rescue legal, but the government actually encourages food donation by protecting food donors from liability when they donate to or through a nonprofit to feed needy individuals.

And that law is called the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.

And it was recently updated in the last couple of years to clarify some unclear aspects of it.

But the government really does want food donations to be made.

We could start share tables.

There's the Bill Emerson Act and they do it in Boston." And they said, "That is all well and good, but we have to be concerned about compliance and the health department." So initially, I viewed that as the biggest obstacle, but you know the obstacle is the way, and Food Nutrition Services and I, we all had to work together to make sure if you're gonna solve an issue, you have to come at it with all of the stakeholders and all of the different perspectives to make sure that everyone's needs are being met.

So that compliance, that is a big issue.

Wonderful.

It is the biggest misunderstanding, I believe, in the food rescue world.

In the 90s, Bill Clinton signed a bill into law called the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.

And even beyond that, there are further protections for the person who donates the food, the company who donates the food.

So if more people would just learn about food rescue and realize that Nonprofits like Kentucky Harvest make it so easy for them.