Food rescue is the practice of collecting donated, edible food that would otherwise go to waste and distributing that food to those in need. The recovered food is safe and edible, but often not seen as sellable. Short dated food or foods that are at or past their "sell by" date or are imperfect in any way (bruised fruit, day old breads) are donated by grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, and cafeterias.Other times, the food is unblemished, but restaurants may have made too much or grocery stores may have over-ordered. In most cases, the rescued food is being saved from the trash. Donors recieve tax benefits for their donations and are protected from liability lawsuits by the federal Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. River Cities Harvest is a proud to partner with these daily and weekly donors to ensure that their excess food does not go to waste, but is used to help feed those in need.