The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996 was created to encourage food donation to nonprofits by minimizing liability. Signed into law by President Bill Clinton and passed with strong bipartisan support, this law, named after Rep. Bill Emerson (who encouraged the proposal but died before it was passed), makes it easier to donate food by allowing donor liability only in cases of gross negligence.
There was a burst of publicity after the passage of the law but ever since this law has virtually languished in obscurity. With no government brochures to promote it and no attempts by public officials to talk it up, grocery stores and restaurants continue to fear the same liability the law was supposed to solve. Millions of tons of food are wasted for mere lack of publicity about a great law.