Governor Signs Bill to Allow Food Suppliers to Give Surplus to Needy

State legislation encouraging restaurants and other food suppliers to donate leftovers to the needy has been signed into law by Gov. George Deukmejian.

The law, which will take effect Jan. 1, will protect donors from civil liability should food that was fit for consumption at the time of the donation later become tainted and make someone ill.

Stanley R. Kyker, executive vice president of the California Restaurant Assn., on Friday called the measure “a logical, sensible way to help alleviate the state’s hunger problems.”

Encouraging distribution of leftovers “takes food from areas where surpluses often exist and deposits it in areas where shortages exist,” Kyker said. “What’s more, it does so without incurring any new financial burdens for taxpayers, businesses or government.”

‘An Important Step’

“This legislation is an important step in our efforts to help serve the needy,” said state Sen. Newton R. Russell (R-Glendale), who wrote the measure. Deukmejian signed the bill Wednesday.

The state now has no law to protect food donors from lawsuits, no matter how good their intentions, and many restaurateurs say they have been reluctant to donate food because they have no control over its handling once it leaves their establishments. As a result, hundreds of pounds of unserved entrees, soups and other prepared foods are discarded in back alley dumpsters each day.

In addition to food suppliers, Russell’s bill provides immunity from lawsuits to nonprofit charitable organizations that receive and distribute food.

Russell said he introduced the measure after The Times reported in January that restaurants and charity groups in Los Angeles “find it hard to meet health officials’ unbending interpretation of laws governing the doling out of leftovers.”

Lobbied for Passage

Russell said the restaurant association, which represents 2,900 firms that operate 9,000 food service businesses statewide, helped draft the legislation and lobbied for its passage.

Kay Lentz, Russell’s administrative assistant, said a large number of charities also supported the bill, including the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, the Los Angeles Mission, the California Catholic Conference and Senior Gleaners Inc., a statewide organization of volunteer senior citizens who collect and distribute surplus food.

Jo-Linda Thompson, government affairs director and general counsel of the restaurant association, said her group now plans to set up a statewide network to coordinate the distribution of food from restaurants to charities.

Thompson said the restaurant “Good Samaritan” law “may be only one small part of a solution to feeding the hungry in California, but we’re real proud of it.”