A legislative effort to expand primarily retail and farmer donations to Kentucky food banks is one step away from general assembly approval. The House bill won backing from the Senate Agriculture Committee Tuesday.
Kentucky Association of Food Banks Director Tamara Sandberg said the bill ensures donors don’t face liability issues when making food donations. She said it affects grocery retailers and individual growers.
“This bill also establishes and clarifies that the farmers would not be liable, unless there is intentional misconduct, for any of the food that they allow volunteers to come pick in their fields,” she said.
Sandberg said food banks across Kentucky distributed 69 million pounds of food last year. She said less than a third came from the retail sector, but Sandberg expects that to increase if the bill becomes law.
“We even heard from a retailer in central Kentucky that said they would dump the food and then put a padlock on the dumpster because they were so afraid if someone took the food from that and got sick they would be liable for it. So, we believe this will help in the fight against hunger,” she said.
