Israeli Parliament Approves Law To Increase Food Distribution To Poor

Israel’s parliament has passed The Food Donation Act, a move geared towards increasing the amount of sustenance distributed to the poor. The law absolves food donors and non-profit organizations from criminal and civil liability, provided their practices accord with safety requirements set by the Ministry of Health. Israel has joined a group of only five countries—including the United States which has a similar law called the Bill Emerson Act—to pass legislation encouraging the collection of excess food by protecting those that dispense it. According to the NGO Leket, the new rules will allow organizations like it to double or triple the amount of food they provide to the hungry by significantly expanding their number of partnerships. “1.8 million Israelis suffer from food insecurity while 2.3 million tons of food at a value of [about $5 billion] is thrown away annually,” Leket CEO Gidi Kroch affirmed, adding that, “The Food Donation Act opens the door to hundreds of organizations and businesses that have quality and substantial amounts of surplus food but do not currently donate out of fear from liability.” The other nations with comparable laws are Canada, New Zealand and Italy.