River Bend Foodbank - Feeding the Hungry Since 1982Illinois Foodbank AssociationAmerica's Second Harvest

Food Industry Donations

HOW TO DONATE FOOD

Making a food donation to the foodbank is time - and cost efficient:

  • EASY CONTACT: Contact the Foodbank at 309-764-7434
  • FOOD PICKUP: The Foodbank will send out a truck to pick up your donation.
  • PROFESSIONAL FOOD HANDLING: Your food donation will be stored in our fully equipped 25,000 square foot warehouse.
  • EFFICIENT DISTRIBUTION: Your donation will be quickly distributed to needy people through our member programs, and these programs are monitored to ensure that donated product does not reenter the marketplace.
  • INSTANT FEEDBACK: Your donation will be tracked, documented and receipted.
  • LEGAL PROTECTION: Your company is protected from liability by the Good Samaritan Act.

    • WHY DONATE FOOD

    Donating food makes good business sense. Here are just a few reasons why:

  • TAX DEDUCTION: The 1976 Federal Tax Law (H.R. 10612) permits you to deduct all of the costs of producing, packaging and delivering your products - plus up to 50 percent of the difference between the cost and the fair market value.
  • COST SAVINGS: In salvaging food and other products, your company eliminates dumping costs.
  • INVENTORY CONTROL: A food donation can help reduce your surplus of hard-to-move inventory, and inventory that can be eaten but not sold.
  • COMMUNITY GOODWILL: Your support and goodwill will win you the respect of the community.
  • PROUD STAFF: Employees feel good about their company's role in making a difference in the community.

    • WHAT TO DONATE

    The Foodbank accepts anything from cases to truckloads of dry-stored, nonperishable or frozen food items, and non-food items. Call the Foodbank if you find that your products are:

  • Surplus
  • Cosmetically damaged
  • Mislabeled or unlabelled
  • Code-dated
  • Discontinued, test-market and private-label brands
  • Under- or over-weight items
  • Seasonally packaged

    • Good Samaritan Laws

    On October 1, 1996, President Clinton signed the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act to encourage the donation of food and grocery products to non-profit organizations for distribution to needy individuals. This new law makes it easier to donate.

    Here's how:

  • It protects donors from liability when donating to a non-profit organization.
  • It protects donors from civil and criminal liability should the product donated in good faith later cause harm to the needy recipient.
  • It standardizes donor liability exposure.
  • Donors and their legal counsel no longer have to investigate liability laws in 50 states.
  • It sets a liability floor of "gross negligence" or intentional misconduct for persons who donate grocery products. (See Act text for further definitions.)

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