Bill Text: NJ A3534 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires retail food establishments to donate surplus unused baked goods to local nonprofits and charities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-12-06 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee [A3534 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A3534-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires retail food establishments to donate surplus unused baked goods to local nonprofits and charities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning food donations by retail food establishments and supplementing Title 24 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. An owner or manager of a retail food establishment in this State, defined pursuant to N.J.A.C.8:24-1.5, that does not participate in a food donation program shall donate to a local nonprofit organization that requests a donation surplus, unused bakery products that appear to be fit for human consumption at the time the products are donated.
b. The provisions of P.L.1982, c.178, c.3 (C.24:4A-3) shall apply to a retail food establishment that donates food pursuant to this section.
2. This act shall take effect 30 days following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires that retail food establishments in the State donate surplus, unused baked goods that appear to be fit for human consumption upon request of nonprofit organizations and charities, if the retail food establishments do not already make such donations. "Retail food establishment" is defined by regulation (N.J.A.C.8:24-1.5), to mean "an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption," and includes such operations as restaurants, catering operations that provide food directly to consumers, markets, vending locations, and institutions.
Immunity from liability for food donations exists under the "Food Bank Good Samaritan Act," P.L.1982, c.178 (C.24:4A-1 et seq.), which protects donors from liability in civil actions and criminal prosecutions for injury or death due to the condition of the food, unless the injury or death is a direct result of the gross negligence, recklessness or knowing misconduct of the donor. Similar liability protection is provided under the federal "Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act" (Pub. L. 104-210).
Some restaurants, bakeries, food stores, and other retail food establishments in the State currently donate their surplus food, but many still do not do so, despite the availability of coordination assistance from food recovery organizations, and in many cases, the availability of tax benefits. According to the Hunger Prevention Advisory Committee established pursuant to P.L.2001, c.62 (C.30:1A-7 et seq.), many emergency food providers in the State have seen significant increases in the number of people they serve, and some providers had to either shut their doors because their shelves were bare or limit the food they distributed in order to stretch their resources. The committee recommended in its 2009 report to the Legislature that the State's existing food donation laws be evaluated in order to maximize food resources and ensure that good food is not being wasted while people are going hungry. This bill is intended to further reduce the amount of wasted food and increase the amount of food that can be distributed to those in need.
