A few years ago, I was at a coffee shop -- Starbucks? Diedrichs? -- while they were closing up. The clerk offered to give me any leftover pastries I wanted. I suggested they just give them to the homeless or something instead. Can't, she said. Company policy. We could be held legally liable if they get sick. That, I always thought, was why few restaurants donate their leftover food, and why some go so far as to lock their dumpsters and prosecute those who would steal their garbage. But today, Barbara Fisher informs me of something called The Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which protects companies who give away their leftovers. So it looks like that explanation is invalid. Do corporate headquarters just really, really hate Freegans, or fear that folks will find out they can get day old croissants at Second Harvest? Barbara, a chef, makes a number of other interesting points on food waste, including that corporate chains don't have the menu flexibility to utilize leftover ingredients in tomorrow's specials, and so they toss out a lot of food in the name of menu consistency. And she makes the simple point that if you're at a coffee shop or restaurant that seems to be throwing out the day old goods, ask them why, and see if you can't get them to contract with Second Harvest. Couldn't hurt.
