The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 12 : Court Procedure
Chapter 197 : Good Samaritan Law for Donations of Food
(Cite as: 12 V.S.A. § 5761)-
§ 5761. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Perishable foods” means any food that may spoil or otherwise become unfit for human consumption because of its nature, type, or physical condition. Perishable food includes fresh or processed meats, wild game, fish, poultry, seafood, dairy products, bakery products, eggs in the shell, fresh fruits or vegetables, and foods that have been packaged, refrigerated, or frozen.
(2) “Canned foods” means any canned food that has been hermetically sealed and commercially processed and prepared for human consumption, including canned or preserved fruits, vegetables, or other articles of food. There is specifically excluded for purposes of this section canned goods that are rusted, leaking, swollen, or canned goods that are defective or cannot be otherwise offered for sale to members of the general public.
(3) “Farm products” means any agricultural, dairy, or horticultural product, or any product designed or intended for human consumption or prepared principally from an agricultural, dairy, or horticultural product.
(4) “Charitable or nonprofit organization” means any organization which is exempt from federal or State income taxation, except that the term does not include organizations which sell or offer to sell such donated items of food. (Added 1983, No. 209 (Adj. Sess.); amended 1997, No. 36, § 1.)
