What To Do With All That Food
By Susanne Goldstein on Mar 18, 2008 in Acts of Kindness, Cultural Trends, The Social Age
I went to an event recently where there was a lovely spread of cheeses, breads, dips and other yummy hors d’oeuvres. At the end of the reception, the staff started cleaning up and I asked what they did with all of the left over food. The answer, as most of you already know, is horrifying… it is thrown away.
I’ve been trying to figure the logic of this one out. You see, according to America’s Second Harvest, if we could recover just 5% of the food wasted each year, we could help feed 14 million people. But it turns out that food that has been left out at a reception must be chucked because of… liability reasons. So if I’m to understand this correctly, companies are worried about donating perfectly good food to shelters and the homeless because they are worried about being sued.
Doesn’t it seem like there is something terrible wrong here? I mean people, can’t we use some common sense? Leftover bread, crackers, hard cheeses, chips, veggies and other perfectly good food certainly have a shelf-life outside of the refrigerator long enough that it can be recovered. Unless it has been baking in the sun all day, it just seems that we should be able to do something about it.
An organization called “Rock and Wrap it Up” is taking on this issue directly. With over 150 bands participating “Rock and Wrap it Up” collects performers’ backstage edible leftover food in every arena or stadium where they perform and bring it to local kitchens and shelters. Current and recent tours contracting food recovery with Rock and Wrap it Up! in their rider include Tom Petty, Phil and Friends, Allman Brothers Band, The Dave Matthews Band, Nickelback, Kenny Chesney, Christina Aquilera ,Martina McBride and The Indigo Girls. The clincher is that all donors are protected from liability by The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996.
So I’m going to go back to the place where I went to this lovely event and talk to them about signing up for a food recovery program to help those in need and steer clear from fear of litigation. You can learn more about donating surplus food and find resources from the EPA by clicking here.
I work for a non-profit assisted living facility, and people regularly bring us leftovers from parties or seminars or what have you. Because we are governed by the board of health and because we’re feeding a frail, vulnerable population, we are under strict rules and regulations about the food we serve to our residents. To give you an example: at every meal, every item on the menu is checked for appropriate temperature three times. A little much, maybe, but think about the population we’re feeding.
There is a tremendous amount of food wasted in our society, and I agree that we should do something about it. But consider the very populations who might benefit from donations of food. They may be frail or vulnerable, they may have weakened immune systems, and they may lack health insurance—which would lead to even greater problems should they become sick from meats and cheeses that have not been appropriately refrigerated. Then what? A good-faith, good-Samaritan act, and the intended beneficiary becomes sick and may not be able to receive treatment.
Remember canned food drives? There’s a reason why they were canned food drives and not perishable food drives.
I hate to sound like a killjoy at a valiant effort to care for others, but passing along leftovers may not be the best way to deal with the problem of wasted food.
Comment by Erika Dankovits -- Mar 18, 2008 @ 9:13 pm
Erika-
Your point is well taken, and for sure, not all food should be donated to all places. Your point about vulnerable populations is an important one. Clearly there need to be standards, and the document I linked to from the EPA sets some of those forth. But certainly we can do more than throw food away. There HAS to be a better solution.
Thanks for your comment
Susanne
Comment by Susanne Goldstein -- Mar 18, 2008 @ 10:19 pm