Homelessness

To what extent do federal laws, regulations, or policies hinder federal facilities like cafeterias from making prepared food that is uneaten available to the homeless? Of 14 federal Departments that maintain food service facilities, 13 said that they had little unconsumed food to donate. The remaining agency--the Defense Department--has only just begun its donation policy and could not estimate how much food might be available. Almost all of the Departments use food service contractors to run their facilities. These contractors are allowed to use their own discretion in donating food. None of the contractors GAO contacted had written policies on donating unconsumed food, but they said they do donate some food on an ad hoc basis. States have enacted food donation statutes, called good samaritan laws, that provide food donors various degrees of immunity from civil or criminal liability should someone become ill after eating donated food. Federal food service facilities that choose to donate food are covered by these statutes.

GAO found that: (1) although the 14 federal departments maintain food service facilities for employees and serve meals in their hospitals or on military facilities, 12 departments have no policy regarding food donations; (2) since most departments rely on contractors to operate their food service facilities, contractors decide whether to donate food; (3) 13 of the 14 departments had little unconsumed food to donate and the Department of Defense had only recently begun its donation program and could not estimate how much food might be made available; (4) the Department of Veterans Affairs requires the immediate discard of unconsumed meats or creamed foods and regards unconsumed food served in patients' rooms as contaminated; (5) of 15 federal food service contractors contacted, none had a food donation policy, although several said they voluntarily donated meals on an ad hoc basis to charitable organizations or distributed complimentary food tickets that the homeless could exchange for a meal; (6) although good samaritan laws vary greatly among states, they provide adequate protection for food service facilities that wish to donate prepared food; and (7) because contractors' food costs are usually 40 percent of gross sales, they cannot afford to have excess unconsumed food.