The Lazarus Council provides governments and organizations with model legislation, explanatory notes, and reference research to support voluntary adoption of food-donation best practices. Each model law is written in standard legislative format, with customizable sections that can be adapted for national or regional use.
Our goal is to make ready-made legislative language freely available so governments can move quickly if they choose to do so.
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Legislative Templates
Each model law includes:
Full legislative text, formatted for introduction
Pre-formatted and annotated for rapid introduction.
Summary brief for policy review
A one-page overview suitable for policy briefings.
Research references from leading organizations
Supporting data from organizations such as ReFED, Harvard FLPC, FAO, and the UN World Food Programme.
Implementation notes aligned with existing legal systems
Guidance on alignment with local trade, environmental, and food-safety regulations.
Legislation Library
AVAILABLE MODEL LAWS
Law Nº
Title
Purpose
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1
Customs Fee Exemptions for Donated Food
Eliminates customs-related barriers to humanitarian food shipments
Harvard FLPC and ReFED research show that inconsistent food-date labels cause billions of pounds of safe food to be discarded annually. Our model law draws from this research and California’s AB 660 (2024), creating a two-label shared best-practice standard.
Best if used by
Quality indicator
Use by
Safety indicator
This model legislation helps make post-quality-date donation legal, safe, and more consistent across jurisdictions.
Research confirms that standardized labeling reduces confusion, prevents waste, and boosts food-donation rates by 20–30 percent.
LEGAL COLLABORATION NETWORK
Be a part of the change
Policymakers, trade officials, and legal experts may participate in the Lazarus Legislative Network to exchange ideas, adapt model laws for local context, and share implementation strategies.
