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Bill Emmerson Food 
Donation Act (1996)
and the current system

vs.

Food Donation Improvement Act (2023)
with Leftovers.today

An comparison between the former and the current food rescue laws

Changes to the law

  • Only free food donations to domestic non-profits can receive liability protection and tax deductions

  • Confusing laws and liability concerns result in missed opportunities to rescue wholesome food

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  • Free food donations and reduced price clearance food to domestic non-profits and directly to needy individuals receive liability protection and tax deductions

  • Creates additional channels and monetary incentives for food rescue 

Discovery

  • Cannot view what donations are available at each store location and plan routes

  • Inefficient use of precious non-profit
    resources and volunteers

  • Stores must throw away food that is not picked up by non-profits

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  • App with real-time view of items at each store. Find, reserve and pick up free food donations and purchase clearance items

  • Stores make donation inventory visible

  • Non-profits can use resources effectively

  • Individuals can find food to rescue directly

Convenience and Equity

  • Compared to stores, food banks operate for fewer hours per week

  • Challenging to find volunteers year round

  • Working adults, students and homebound may make it during these limited hours

  • Food rescue may not be equitable

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  • Supplement food banks with direct food rescue from grocery stores 

  • Stores become new food rescue locations with longer open hours all year long

  • Greater choice of food to rescue

  • Direct donations reduce theft at stores

Environment and Sustainability

  • Labor, fuel and energy is spent many times over on the same food item, passing through many hands before it reaches the needy individual

  • Creates preventable greenhouse gas
    emissions

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  • A needy individual living near a store with donation or clearance food items can
    directly pick it up without a long commute 

  • Donated food items pass through fewer hands and locations, using less energy

  • Greener for the environment

Central Management

  • Each store and local non-profits maintains bespoke partnerships

  • Difficult to observe food rescue trends and insights from local to a national scale

  • Lacking unified dashboards and support services to manage relationships and goals 

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  • All store to non-profit relationships are
    centrally managed on a modern platform

  • Insights and learnings across all donations to drive ESG and store growth goals

  • Support and helpdesk services, indemnity

  • Easily calculate tax deductions

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