Summary: 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.
