BILL NUMBER: S4176

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to requiring supermarkets to make excess food available to
qualifying entities

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill is designed to increase food donations to food banks and other
providers who feed the needy and to help reduce dangerous emissions of
methane from the decomposition of organic waste in landfills.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends environmental conservation law article 27
by adding a new title 28 to establish the "Excess Food Act." The Excess
Food Act provides the following:

1. Definitions. As used in this article shall have the following mean-
ing:
              

(a) "Excess food" means edible food that is not sold or used by a super-
market and which is still safe to be consumed but is being disposed of
by the supermarket due to labeling, appearance, surplus or other similar
conditions.. Excess foods shall not include unpackaged fresh meat, fish
or poultry; food damaged by storage conditions; pests, mold, bacteria or
other contamination; food which has been offered for sale from a hot,
cold or prepared food bar; food subject to a governmental or producer
recall; food returned to a supplier; food donated to a qualifying enti-
ty; food sold to a food marketer or restaurant or other preparer of food
for human consumption or sold to a farmer or other producer.

(b) "Qualifying entity" means a religious organization or other not-for-
profit organization which provides food for free to needy persons,
including but not limited to a food pantry, food bank, soup-kitchen or
community based organization that provides food for free to needy
persons.

(c) "Supermarkets" means a physical retail store which has at the
subject location more than ten thousand square feet devoted to offering
food for human consumption for sale to the general public.  Supermarket
shall not include hotels, motels, restaurants and cafeterias, bakeries,
caterers, hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, hospic-
es, group homes, drug stores, educational institutions, and food courts
in shopping malls, food retailers at airports and other transportation
facilities, gas stations, sports arenas, movie theaters or any other
similar establishment.

2. Availability requirement.

(a) Every supermarket shall from time to time make excess food available
to qualifying charities.

(b) No supermarket shall be required to make available a particular
quantity or level of excess food or to transport or distribute any
excess food.


(c) A supermarket shall be deemed in compliance with this section if it
in good faith arranges with a qualifying entity that has requested in
writing to collect excess food from the supermarket, for the collection
of such excess food. A supermarket acting in compliance with this
section shall have no liability for the food transferred in the absence
of gross negligence or intentional misconduct.

(d) A supermarket may impose reasonable restrictions as to the time and
manner of collection by a qualifying entity so as not to interfere with
its business operations.

(e) A supermarket may, in accordance with applicable laws, dispose of
any excess food which is not picked up by a qualifying entity within a
reasonable time.

3. Construction. Nothing in this tile shall be construed to supersede
any state or federal health laws or regulations regarding the handling
of foods

4. Enforcement. A supermarket that does not meet the requirements of
this title shall not be subject to the penalties specified in title
twenty-seven of article seventy-one of this chapter.

Section 2 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Hunger in the U.S. and our state is a serious problem. An estimated 50
million Americans, including nearly 16 million children, do not have
sufficient food. Meanwhile, 60 - 100 million tons of edible food is
discarded in the United States, primarily to solid waste landfills.
Decomposition of organic waste accounts for over 15 percent of our
nation's emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Hunger and food insecurity - the uncertainty of having, or inability to
acquire, enough food to meet household food needs exists in every county
in our state. An estimated 2.8 million New Yorkers (over 14%) are facing
hunger and food insecurity. Moreover, a significant number of those
households do not qualify for federal nutrition assistance.

As noted in the Food Bank for Westchester Food Dating Guide, the majori-
ty of food items that are close to or past the indicated date on their
packages are still safe for consumption. This includes items passed the
"expiration date," "sell by date," "use by date" and "pack date." These
codes are used by manufacturers to ensure that consumers receive their
product in peak quality. Supermarkets regularly dispose of these unused
food items and most are of good quality and safe to eat. This legis-
lation will require supermarkets of a certain size to make available
this excess food to entities that provide food for free to the needy.

While supermarkets of a certain size are required to participate, they
are not required to provide a particular quantity of food or transport
or distribute it. Qualifying entities must make a written request for
the excess food and arrange to collect the food at a date and time
arranged with the supermarket. Not only should there be no cost to
participating supermarkets - there may be savings - since supermarkets
will no longer have to pay to have excess food collected and discarded.
In addition, a supermarket in compliance with this section shall have no
liability for the food transferred in the absence of gross negligence or
intentional misconduct.

Making excess food available to qualifying entities that feed the hungry
will go a long way to help address food insecurity in our state without
additional costs to participating supermarkets. In addition, the
donation of excess food will also reduce food waste disposed of in solid
waste landfills which create dangerous emissions.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: A7936 referred to environmental conservation; same as S8993
(Alcantara) referred to rules

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment
and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
completed on or before such date.