HUNGER:

Law allows restaurants freedom to be charitable

Businesses consider donating food instead of throwing it away

Leila Navidi

Goats feed on leftover fruit rinds from Strip casino buffets at RC Farms in North Las Vegas.

Thursday, June 18, 2009 | 2 a.m.

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Come July 1, Kathia Pereira’s family business won’t have to toss up to 1,000 rolls and loaves of bread into the trash every week.

A new state law, which she helped write, takes effect on that date, protecting donors of perishable food from liability.

It will allow Bon Breads Baking Co., the business she owns with her husband, Carlos, to give bread to organizations such as Three Square food bank instead of throwing it away.

“For a long time, my husband and friends in the business wouldn’t donate bread and other food because they were afraid of lawsuits,” Pereira said. “Now we don’t have to worry.”

The need for such a law comes from “restaurants and other businesses throwing away so much, and there being so much need,” she added.

Julie Murray, CEO of Three Square, the valley’s main food bank, welcomed the law. Her organization, which gives food to 250 agencies and 144 schools each week, has gone from dispensing 10.7 million pounds of food in 2008 to 8 million pounds in just the first five months of this year. In the course of 2008, the organization saw food pantries go from feeding 10,000 families to feeding 40,000 families.

In that context, “if there’s a barrier to donating food, and we can change it, we should,” Murray said. Three Square has 10 refrigerated trucks used to recover perishable foods that sit ready for increased donations.

Pereira said she hopes owners and managers of restaurants, bakeries and buffets overcome their long-held “paranoia” over liability. She said many may still be unaware of the law.

Van Heffner, president of the Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association, isn’t optimistic that resorts will immediately start donating perishable food. The association’s 250 members represent 150,000 rooms statewide, and none of its members has contacted Heffner about the pending change in the law, he said.

“I would be surprised if it produces a change in behavior, since there is still fear of risk, of accidents,” Heffner said.

Currently, some hotels and casinos send their waste food to RC Farms, a North Las Vegas business — 600 to 800 tons of it a month, according to Tina Holtz, administrative assistant. It’s unclear, however, how much of that might be suitable for people to eat.

Rob Stillwell, vice president of corporate communications for Boyd Gaming, said Tuesday that his company is examining the new law but hadn’t made a decision about how to react.

Though hotels and casinos might be the biggest players in the state’s service economy, and buffets their most visible food business, Pereira said getting small and medium-sized restaurants and bakeries to donate more food is her main goal.

“There’s so much out there besides buffets,” she said.

Katherine Jacobi, president of the Nevada Restaurant Association, said she thought restaurants in her organization would likely take advantage of the law to donate food.

Matt Silverman, a corporate chef at six area restaurants, including Vintner Grill, said the food his restaurants throw away could feed up to 100 people a week.

“In the past, you’d be careful of what you do, since if you give food to anyone, they can turn around and sue you,” Silverman said. “And this is not right, because so many people are hungry.”

Now, he said he would tell staff how to separate food that can be properly maintained and delivered to area nonprofit organizations, and add that chore to the daily routine at his restaurants. He said he doesn’t intend to write off the donations on tax returns and instead considers the act a case of doing the right thing.

“The driving force is, you walk by the trash can and it’s just full of waste. That’s just wrong.”

Discussion: 11 comments so far…

By markp

6/18/09 at 4:38 a.m.

Suggest removal

poor goats will stave now
By Sinatra711

6/18/09 at 5:55 a.m.

Suggest removal

I hope the casinos take note of this new law and give it another look. If it in fact adequately protects them from lawsuits, then I think they should redirect those donations from the farms to the food bank.

S711
By hooloogoo

6/18/09 at 7:02 a.m.

Suggest removal

.
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.----------Lipshytz, Lipshytz and Sosumi---------...............Attorneys at Law.................
.
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...As an attorney representing four legged goats,I intend to bring class action against two legged human homeless people.
...For years my clients have been happily eating Las Vegas garbage and have no intention of letting new humans share in their portion of the pie or rinds.

......Respectfully I remain
. Hulugu
.
. Attorney for Billy and herd of goats
.
..
By cisea

6/18/09 at 8:04 a.m.

Suggest removal

Maybe this will start changing Vegas' karma
By davidwayneosedach

6/18/09 at 9:07 a.m.

Suggest removal

I am surprised that it took until now to come up with this law. Nothing need go to waste. Especially in this economy.
By neiman1

6/18/09 at 10:50 a.m.

Suggest removal

Laws that make sense. Remove someone ability to sue the donors if some food products turn out to be spoiled or not perfect. Let the recipient decide IF to eat of not. The medical malpractice should be the same. If a doctor makes a decision not to test for everything possible under the sun as he treats normal symptoms, he should risk losing millions. That just costs everyone 10 tests instead of one when they have a cough.
By term25600

6/18/09 at 11:45 a.m.

Suggest removal

I wondered about the liability for casinos to feed people. At least thats gone now. The other issues would be to segregate the excess food they have, keep it from spoiling, and then to get it to the food banks. I suspect the costs of doing that vs sending it to RC farms is going to be prohibitive. The goats and pigs dont care if the stuff is mixed together or not !!!

Somehow I bet RC farms pays the casinos too by the pound !!! The homeless woudnt pay.
By hooloogoo

6/18/09 at 12:57 p.m.

Suggest removal

.
..
...I recall the Late Bill Bennet of Circus Circus had buffet leftovers shuttled over to the picketers at the Worlds longest running picket line at the New Frontier during the nineties.

...No complaints were heard from the line as many enjoyed hot coffe and a bite to eat during their troubled times..
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By Johnathan_Abbinett

6/18/09 at 6:32 p.m.

Suggest removal

This is the sort of common-sense law we need to help the needy, without holding donors liable! We have plenty of professional food handlers that know how to safely trasfer, sort and store perishable food items (and re-cycle the spoiled items into compost)! I'm so happy for Three Square coming to Vegas and taking a professional approach to feeding our less fortunate - KUDOS!
By Babyboomer

6/19/09 at 8:33 a.m.

Suggest removal

So let me get this straight. If it's a tax DEDUCTION for the business now....the food they give away changes the type of food they would have given away before?What changed was the ole mighty dollar. Las Vegas of all places can feed the hungry.There is no reason for food being wasted in these times.What a total disgrace.New York has had food banks in place for so many years and so many 5 star restaurants provide high quality and fresh food to those banks. No reason at all for Las Vegas to say it may not be good for human consumption...unless they're doing something to it,no reason. Just about every state have food banks in place...and doing a far greater job than Las Vegas.Too take tons of good useable food and feed it to the animals first is a disgrace.
By lvmouth

6/20/09 at 10:26 p.m.

Suggest removal

i can't believe you need a law to give somebody good food before it goes bad! Unbelievable!