Carl DeLine

The federal government is considering special tax breaks for food companies that donate surplus edible goods to charity – a move that could dramatically increase the ability of food banks to feed the nation’s poor.

Carl DeLine, former head of the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank, calls the proposal “excellent news (because) there are tonnes of food out there right now we’re not even touching.”

Although the food bank is as much in need of money as food, “the long-term benefits of tax breaks are tremendous,” he says.

Industry and food bank spokesmen say huge quantities of food – ranging from incorrectly labelled cans to three-day-old bread that’s now trucked to the dump – could be steered toward the hungry if producers, processors, distributors, marketing boards and retailers had more reason to do so.

“A little incentive could go a long way,” says Keith Bray, spokesman for the Toronto-based Canadian Food Brokers Association, whose 250 member companies include food processors and distributors. “(Tax breaks) would probably triple corporate donations.”

DeLine says his food bank handed out $2.3 million worth of goods last year, including about $1.8 million donated by the corporate sector. If food companies are given tax incentives to increase their donations, “I don’t see why we couldn’t double that $1.8 million.”

Current regulations in Canada, unlike those in the United States, provide no tax write off for a company to forward its surplus to a food bank. Association president Ian Kennedy says most firms choose to throw away their excess food because it’s quick and easy. They don’t like having the items around longer than necessary, or assuming liability if the stuff is donated and turns bad.

But Agriculture Canada has surveyed several major food banks across the country and prepared a report calling for special tax concessions and some way of relieving donors from liability. It also urges Ottawa to be more active in helping food banks and the food industry get to know each other.

Southam News obtained the report through Ken Rubin, an Ottawa researcher who applied for its release under the Access to Information Act.

The document was originally intended as a preliminary study. But Linda Keen, coordinator of the Agriculture Canada project, says her department has already asked Revenue Canada to issue a formal ruling on how much of its donated surplus a food company can write off. Negotiations could then start concerning additional write-offs.

Spokesmen from food banks in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Surrey, B.C. say they also see considerable potential through tax breaks.

The department report says Canadian food banks handed out more than 10.7 million kg of goods last year, most of it donated by corporations.

Local food retailers who donate regularly to the food bank say they probably won’t be affected by tax breaks.

Jim Waters, public affairs manager for Canada Safeway Ltd., says that wholesalers will gain new incentives to donate goods if Canada’s tax incentives parallel those of the United States because their laws protect the wholesaler if something spoiled is accidentally given away.

Originally published August 6, 1988 by the Calgary Herald (Calgary, AB), credited to Jeff Adams of Southam News.