If you throw it away
- You only deduct what you paid for it.
- You still pay the dumpster and the hauler.
- The food is gone. Nobody sees the gift.
Grocery stores · warehouses · farms
Throw it away, deduct the cost. Donate it, you may deduct twice as much.
A grocery store is a business. This is the better number. Toss unsold food and you write off what you paid — then you pay to haul it. Give that same food to Plenty, a program of United Under God (a 501(c)(3)), and federal tax law may let you deduct the cost plus half the profit you would have made, up to twice the cost of the product. That is twice the financial benefit. Then people who appreciate the kindness come back. They spend the money they have left — milk, meat, soap, a birthday cake — in your store.
That’s why Publix, Kroger, Walmart, and Costco already do it.
EIN 81-3554390 · United Under God, Inc. · 501(c)(3) · Plenty is the pantry program
New store? Sign up once on United Under God — that is the charity and the tax record. Already on the list? Request a pickup here. Receipts always say United Under God, Inc.
If you donate it to Plenty
- You may deduct up to twice the cost.
- We pick it up. Receipt in your hand.
- Neighbors remember. They come back and shop.
You paid $200. You would have sold it for $600.Dumpster write-off ≈ $200 → Donate write-off ≈ $400 — twice the costFormula: cost plus half the profit you would have received, capped at twice what you paid.
Twice the write-off
Throw it away: deduct cost. Donate wholesome food to our 501(c)(3): deduct the cost plus 50% of the profit you would have received — up to twice the cost of the product. Ask your accountant about IRC § 170(e)(3).
Kindness comes back as sales
People who feel a store’s kindness reciprocate. They walk your aisles and often spend leftover money on other items at your store — not the one down the road.
The dumpster charges you
Disposal is a fee. Donation is often cheaper per pound, and it clears the shelf for food people will pay full price for.
You are covered
Bill Emerson Act (42 U.S.C. § 1791) and O.C.G.A. § 51-1-31. Recipients sign a waiver. Gross negligence is the exception — not ordinary donation.
Not legal or tax advice. Eligibility depends on the food, your entity, and your books. Show this to your accountant.
Your numbers
See what throwing it away actually costs you
A meat or dairy manager can punch in one week of what goes in the dumpster. The tax line is cost plus half the profit you would have made, up to twice the cost. Then add what you pay the hauler.
Throw it awayWrite-off $200 · still pay $25 to haul it
Donate it to PlentyWrite-off $400 (at the twice-cost cap) · we pick it up
This week, donating may be worth $225 more than the dumpster. Over a year: $11,700.
People who felt that kindness still spend leftover money in your store. Not legal or tax advice. Show these numbers to your accountant (IRC § 170(e)(3)).
If you are not sure
Federal Bill Emerson Act and Georgia O.C.G.A. § 51-1-31 cover good-faith donors. Recipients sign a waiver. Gross negligence is the exception — not ordinary leftover food.
Leave the one-pager. We wait. No one stands at your dock until you say so. If the banner already says you feed kids, meat and dairy can match that — same 501(c)(3), same waiver, same pickup.
A commercial is a promise. The dock is how it happens in Vidalia. Department managers do not have to invent a program — Plenty already exists, recipients already sign, and we already pick up.
We come to the dock. You do not sort, bag, or drive. Name a day. We take what is coming off the shelf.
People who feel the kindness come back. They spend leftover money on other items in your store. Studies do not show a drop in grocer sales when a pantry is nearby.
Named volunteers. We text them the time. You can require a name at the door. Extra purchase is never required.
You pause any week. One call. The repeating pickup turns off.
We email a receipt for the load. EIN 81-3554390. Show it to your accountant. Not tax advice.
Say so. We send a truck with a cooler, or we only take dry until we have one.
Already on the list? Request a pickup
First time giving? Sign up on United Under God so the tax record is clean. Then tell us here when food is on the dock. A weekly day is optional.