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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1734 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2201 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Bradley H. Jones, Jr. and Hannah Kane |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to the promotion of food donation. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Bradley H. Jones, Jr.20th Middlesex1/17/2023Hannah Kane11th Worcester1/19/2023Nicholas A. Boldyga3rd Hampden1/26/2023Susan Williams Gifford2nd Plymouth1/26/2023F. Jay Barrows1st Bristol1/26/2023Paul K. Frost7th Worcester1/31/2023Kimberly N. Ferguson1st Worcester1/31/2023Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk2/15/2023Brian W. Murray10th Worcester2/18/2023 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1734 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2201 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Jones of North Reading and Kane of Shrewsbury, a petition (accompanied by |
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| 19 | 19 | | bill, House, No. 2201) of Bradley H. Jones, Jr., Hannah Kane and others relative to authorizing |
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| 20 | 20 | | the Department of Public Health to provide guidance to businesses regarding best practices for |
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| 21 | 21 | | food donation. Public Health. |
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| 22 | 22 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 2326 OF 2021-2022.] |
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| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
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| 29 | 29 | | An Act relative to the promotion of food donation. |
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| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1 SECTION 1. The department of public health shall issue guidance to businesses in the |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2commonwealth regarding best practices for food donation, and state and federal policies |
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| 34 | 34 | | 3concerning liability protections when donating food. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 4 The guidance shall include, but not be limited to, a review of: |
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| 36 | 36 | | 5 (i) state and federal liability protection laws in place concerning food donation; |
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| 37 | 37 | | 6 (ii) the community benefits of food donation, including, but not limited to, reducing food |
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| 38 | 38 | | 7waste, and providing food for those in need; |
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| 39 | 39 | | 8 (iii) incentives for businesses to donate surplus food; 2 of 3 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 9 (iv) federal, state, and local regulations for safe food handling of food donations; |
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| 41 | 41 | | 10 (v) best practices of food donation; |
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| 42 | 42 | | 11 (vi) the types of food and produce that may be donated by businesses; |
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| 43 | 43 | | 12 (vii) and contact information for staff at the department of public health that businesses |
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| 44 | 44 | | 13can reach out to with questions regarding food donation best practices and liability protections. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 14 SECTION 2. The commissioner of the department of public health shall establish how |
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| 46 | 46 | | 15said guidelines regarding food donation by businesses be distributed to Massachusetts |
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| 47 | 47 | | 16establishments in a manner that ensures that they are easily accessible. The commissioner shall |
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| 48 | 48 | | 17also ensure that said guidelines are posted on the department of public health’s website. The |
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| 49 | 49 | | 18guidelines shall be developed, distributed, and posted by the department of public health no later |
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| 50 | 50 | | 19than 6 months within the passage of this act. |
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| 51 | 51 | | 20 SECTION 3. The department of public health shall conduct educational webinars for |
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| 52 | 52 | | 21health agents and local boards of health regarding best practices and strategies for implementing |
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| 53 | 53 | | 22effective and safe policies and programs regarding food donation. The commissioner of the |
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| 54 | 54 | | 23department of public health shall determine the educational content that shall be included in said |
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| 55 | 55 | | 24webinars, and the frequency with which they shall be held, provided that, said webinars are held |
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| 56 | 56 | | 25a minimum of 4 times per calendar year. |
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| 57 | 57 | | 26 SECTION 4. The department of public health shall develop and implement a state-wide |
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| 58 | 58 | | 27educational campaign to conduct targeted outreach to Massachusetts businesses and consumers |
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| 59 | 59 | | 28to teach them about the importance of reducing food waste and how they can play a role in 3 of 3 |
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| 60 | 60 | | 29reducing food waste. The commissioner of the department of public health shall ensure that the |
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| 61 | 61 | | 30campaign is developed and implemented no later than 12 months within the passage of this act. |
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