@Deanna - That breaks my heart. I will ask if they can coordinate this differently. I know grocers, here, send their bakery items to food pantries. Feeding the homeless and helpless in my area is a huge endeavor that we all throw resources in for.
Bakery items just get stale (by the time they’re unwilling to sell it, mold comes later)... meat gets poisonous. Giving rotten meat to soup kitchens kills people. Even “just” disarhhea & vomiting from food poisoning is lethal to people without access to clean drinking water, and outside of healthcare professionals, most people in the US don’t take food poisoning seriously, because “everyone” has access to clean drinking water & bathrooms. Except the homeless.
Most of our homeless deaths (in my region) come from easily treated conditions. A few gallons of Gatorade, clean/dry/warm clothes, and a place to clean yourself up.... instead of lying too exhausted to move in puddles of your own filth sick as a dog... with the police being called, and ideally then EMTs, although more often sick people just drag themselves off to recover or die out of sight.
It was a HUGE problem here, food borne illness in our homeless population, as restaurants and grocery stores used to give all their unsold / spoiled food to whomever wanted it. Set out back in piles. Now, you have to be licensed to give food away... or be held criminally liable for both the deaths and medical bills. Which is why restaurants lock their dumpsters, or have their dumpsters housed in locked sheds. The lock means it’s still private property, and if someone breaks into your property and steals something that makes them sick? It’s on them. (In this state. California is a little wacky. Attractive nuisance laws in most states don’t include garbage. But when I lived there, it did. Which is a piece of why businesses are so aggressive in removing homeless people from their vicinity. Unintended consequences. But California is known for being wacky. A burglar fell through my neighbor’s skylight, and sued her for medical bills and pain/suffering :rolleyes: And won. Most states also have loopholes for injuries occurring on private property during the commission of a crime. There’s a reason why the 9th circuit is overturned almost always. Wacky. Seriously wacky laws.)
Easy problem to solve, actually, (restaurants being liable for people getting sick from their food), as charitable orgs “simply” signed restaurants up to collect their leftovers (no longer the restaurants responsibility, once the licensed org takes it) and the org make sure the food stays “at temp” & fit for human consumption.
An extra step, but one that saves a lot of lives.
