Soup Kitchen welcomes 'Good Samaritan' clause in Food Bill

Soup Kitchen welcomes ‘Good Samaritan’ clause in Food Bill

Friday, September 13th, 2013

Home of Compassion Soup Kitchen manager Nance Thomson reacted positively to the news the Government is moving to allow supermarkets and restaurants to be more able to donate perishable food.

“Our guests will benefit significantly from the change in law”, she told CathNews.

“Our chefs are very creative but will welcome the opportunity to offer a greater variety of food and further improve our guests’ nutrition.

“I’d call this redistribution of food a ‘win-win”, said Nance Thomson.

In June this year the Food Safety Minister Nikki Kay announced that a ‘Good Samaritan’ clause will be introduced to the Food Bill, allowing restaurants and supermarkets to donate perishable foods without the liability they currently face.

Nikki Kaye says the amendment, currently before the Select Committee, will reduce the liability of donors and better protect businesses that “give good food in good faith”.

A report published Wednesday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation found that each year about a third of the food produced for human consumption worldwide is wasted.

The approximately 1.3 billion metric tons emits the equivalent of about 3.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases which is about twice the amount of carbon emitted from the U.S.’s transportation sector and close to twice the yearly emissions of India.

That wasted food also wastes water and the report states that about 250 cubic kilometres of ground and surface water is used each year to produce food that is ultimately wasted.

The Sister of Compassion have been running the Soup Kitchen in Wellington for more than a century. They offer daily a ‘no questions asked’ free breakfast and a $2 ‘family style’ dinner.

This week the Soup Kitchen is looking for donations of milk, potatoes, canned tomatoes and eggs.

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