How to Safely Donate Food

Good Samaritan Protection

There’s no danger in donating food to Waste Not Want Not.

The Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act provides uniform national protection to those who act in good faith to donate, recover and distribute excess food.

Likewise, Chapter 768.13 of the Florida State Statue specifically provides immunity from civil and criminal liability to food donors and to volunteers acting on behalf of charitable organizations that rescue food.

768.136 — Liability for canned or perishable food distributed free of charge –

A good faith donor or gleaner of any canned or perishable food, apparently fit for human consumption, to a bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization for free distribution shall not be subject to criminal penalty or civil damages arising from the condition of the food, unless an injury is caused by the gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct of the donor or gleaner.

A bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization, or any representative or volunteer acting on behalf of such organization or an uncompensated person acting in a philanthropic manner providing services similar to those of such an organization, which accepts, collects, transports, or distributes any canned or perishable food, apparently fit for human consumption, from a good faith donor or gleaner for free distribution shall not be subject to criminal penalty or civil damages arising from the condition of the food, unless an injury is caused by the gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct of an agent of the charitable or nonprofit organization.

The provisions of this section apply to the good faith donation of canned or perishable food regardless of whether such food is readily marketable due to appearance, freshness, grade, surplus, or other such considerations.

Guidelines

Waste Not Want Not gratefully accepts semi-perishable (baked items, citrus and other gleaned produce) and non-perishable items if still suitable for human consumption.  We also accept perishable and prepared foods maintained in safe temperature zones and chilled or frozen before being donated. Please note that prepared food must be provided by a regulated or licensed food business, such as a restaurant, caterer, wholesaler or bakery and must exclude foods previously served to the public.

Contact us for Food Rescue

If you have food to donate once, once in a while, or urgently (or questions about a potential food donation), please call our Volunteer Director at 904.505.5894.

If you have/will have food to donate on a regular basis and your location is within 15 miles of Orange Park, please call our Executive Director at 904.687.6327. We will determine if there is a suitable recipient for your food and if so, we will work with you to set up a convenient schedule  for  rescues.

If you have citrus or other produce to donate, but cannot harvest it yourself, please contact Society of Saint Andrews at (863) 224-0403.