Donating edible food

Donating food is safe and legal

Donors who provide food in good faith are protected by both state and federal laws. These Good Samaritan laws are designed to protect donors and encourage food donation. Donors must comply with state food safety rules. There are also limits on the types and sources of food that can be donated. For example, home-prepared food donations are limited to fresh produce and homemade baked goods that don’t need refrigeration to remain safe to eat. Some examples include cookies, cakes, fruit pies, and breads. Learn how you can safely donate food to support your community.

Businesses have more donation options. For details see Washington State Department of Health Charity Food Donation guidelines.

Community Organizations

Use our list to find organizations and resources that connect food donors with food distributors. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. If you operate an organization in King County that accepts food donations, please email organics@kingcounty.gov to be added to our list.

• AmpleHarvest.org
• EastWest Food Rescue
• Emergency Food Network
• Feeding America’s Food Lifeline
• Feeding Washington
• Harvest Against Hunger
• Hopelink
• Northwest Harvest
• Second Harvest
• South King County Food Coalition
• Washington 2-1-1

Food products that are no longer edible can be composted, often for less than the cost of garbage disposal. Visit our Residential collection and Commerical organics diversion pages for more information.