2 ms·

Interesting, I didn't know about that legislation. In that case, I don't follow supermarkets' logic. If donations are restricted to people who can't otherwise

by majos 7y ago

Interesting, I didn't know about that legislation. In that case, I don't follow supermarkets' logic. If donations are restricted to people who can't otherwise afford the food, and the food will be discarded anyway, why not donate it? Maybe some people will substitute donated food in place of purchasing food themselves. I wonder if supermarkets have data suggesting this is a meaningful fraction of customers.

barbecue_sauce 7y ago
Many supermarkets actually will and do donate food. Sometimes it's even hard to find enough qualifying organizations to take it all. Usually organizations must be documented 5031(c)(3) Tax Exempt non-profits. Donation pickups are usually run by volunteers, so can be inconsistent. Perishable items that are safe to donate usually include in-store baked bread and centrally-produced commercial bakery products. A lot of the food waste (within which I'm including near-expiration perishable foods) is simply not edible or will not be edible by the time it makes it to someone who wants/needs it, but will occasionally make it into a separate stream for reuse (for example, I've seen a wide variety of food waste make it into the hands of pig farmers). CPG/Self-stable items (which are much safer and realistic to donate) that have aesthetic imperfections will often be sent to a centralized reclamation facility and then parceled out to organizations as seen fit. As another poster said, no one has been sued in the US for donations, but supermarket chains are also reticent about the optics of donating food that has clearly expired. Just because you won't be sued doesn't mean you won't feel some blowback in public sentiment if you cause an outbreak of food poisoning in the food-insecure demographic of the population by improperly donating food.

2 ms·

Interesting, I didn't know about that legislation. In that case, I don't follow supermarkets' logic. If donations are restricted to people who can't otherwise

by majos 7y ago

barbecue_sauce 7y ago
Many supermarkets actually will and do donate food. Sometimes it's even hard to find enough qualifying organizations to take it all. Usually organizations must be documented 5031(c)(3) Tax Exempt non-profits. Donation pickups are usually run by volunteers, so can be inconsistent. Perishable items that are safe to donate usually include in-store baked bread and centrally-produced commercial bakery products. A lot of the food waste (within which I'm including near-expiration perishable foods) is simply not edible or will not be edible by the time it makes it to someone who wants/needs it, but will occasionally make it into a separate stream for reuse (for example, I've seen a wide variety of food waste make it into the hands of pig farmers). CPG/Self-stable items (which are much safer and realistic to donate) that have aesthetic imperfections will often be sent to a centralized reclamation facility and then parceled out to organizations as seen fit. As another poster said, no one has been sued in the US for donations, but supermarket chains are also reticent about the optics of donating food that has clearly expired. Just because you won't be sued doesn't mean you won't feel some blowback in public sentiment if you cause an outbreak of food poisoning in the food-insecure demographic of the population by improperly donating food.