Trader Joe's and Panera

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/07/ ... -practice/

The activists at Change.org are accusing Trader Joe's of wasting food.

Their campaign got started from the film Dive!, which recorded employees throwing away large bins of salvageable food.

Panera's distributes unsold bakery items to local food banks and charities daily.

The Panera in Clarksville is VERY generous to Christ's Kitchen in New Albany where our church cooperates with a number of other area churches from Clark and Floyd Counties to serve meals to the hungry twice a week. I always try to thank the manager at Panera when I stop in there.

[Robin Garr]

The Panera in Clarksville is VERY generous to Christ's Kitchen in New Albany where our church cooperates with a number of other area churches from Clark and Floyd Counties to serve meals to the hungry twice a week. I always try to thank the manager at Panera when I stop in there.

I know they are generous to church and charitable beneficiaries over on this side too, Lois, and I say good on 'em for that.

I also saw the Change.org campaign criticizing Trader Joe's and was horrified. I sent the Email and added a note. With both Dare to Care and Kentucky Harvest in Louisville, it will be very difficult for TJ's to explain it if they decide to dumpster their leftovers ... especially now, when I think a lot of people will be watching.

I wonder if it's for fear of being sued that they just toss things? I worked at a grocery store in high school and they threw away the roasted chickens and other deli food at the end of the night just for that reason rather than donating it to a charity, same with produce that was on it's way out. It wouldn't have gone bad overnight when a charity or soup kitchen could have taken it and distributed it, but they didn't want to risk being sued if someone did get food poisoning.

Have heard that there is a different tax write off for a loss versus a donation, but I do good to punch in numbers in a tax program, understanding the intricacies of business tax is not my forte!

Panera recently opened one of the donation driven stores in one of the hardest hit Detroit areas...if anywhere needs some help, it's Detroit. Not a place I frequent, but I've tried to go by more often to support the company.

[Robin Garr]

I wonder if it's for fear of being sued that they just toss things?

I don't think so. Most states have "Good Samaritan" laws specifically protecting donors in cases like this, and Kentucky Harvest here has been a leader in both the technology of recovered food distribution and legislation governing it since the '80s. If a company is willing to donate through Kentucky Harvest, they don't have to sweat liability.

My mother works in the deli at JayC (owned by Kroger) and they throw out all of the unsold rotisserie chickens and sides every night. When she started, she asked them about donating them instead, and was shot down without reason.

It's common. A friend who was a server at Cracker Barrel said they threw away bags of food every night. And employees would be fired if they took so much as a biscuit without paying for it.

Does being sued over donated food have any historical truth, or is this just another unfortunate manifestation of our over lawyered existence?

It's common. A friend who was a server at Cracker Barrel said they threw away bags of food every night. And employees would be fired if they took so much as a biscuit without paying for it.

I think people going to a food bank have suffered enough without being subjected to Cracker Barrel

My mother works in the deli at JayC (owned by Kroger) and they throw out all of the unsold rotisserie chickens and sides every night. When she started, she asked them about donating them instead, and was shot down without reason.

I certainly think that progress should be contacted again regarding this! There are certainly so many people in need of every little bit donated helps and I'm sure Kroger could potentially provide quite a bit.

[Robin Garr]

I think people going to a food bank have suffered enough without being subjected to Cracker Barrel

We do a monthly food pantry at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, where much of the food is supplied by Dare to Care. For the past couple of months this has included a big box that appears to have come from a KFC shop at closing time, individual portions - even mashed potatoes, even dollops of gravy - poured into baggies and frozen. To their credit, a lot of the guests look at it and pass on by, but I guess if you're hungry enough, it's a case of "Whatever."