Late Stage Capitalism

Yeah, they're ignorant.

That's when you drop the book on them and let then know that's not the case.

Not saying it's morally right, but they do have a point.

The thing to remember is they can still be sued. Do you think the law simply says, "under no circumstances will someone who accepts free food from a grocery store be able to sue them."?

Laws cannot be written like that, as then you have to worry about edge cases. What if some store manager, protected by an overly broad liability protection law, actively hates homeless people and deliberately gives out food that they know is not only passed its sell-by date, but is actually dangerously expired, or subject of a recall? You have to write those laws in a way that protects stores acting in good faith while also not protecting monsters.

These laws have to have exceptions in them for things like malice, but even things like willful negligence. And in the complexities of the specific language involved, lawyers can find a way to make even those stores acting in good faith pay under the right circumstances. Hell, you could give out a perfectly fine item. Then someone coincidentally gets really sick from a completely unrelated cause immediately after. They might file a lawsuit against you, just hoping you'll settle it for a few thousand out of court.

Or think of a more complex situation. Let's say you run a store and give out your left over daily items at the end of the day. Someone comes in for one of these items, slips on a spill on the floor, and sues you. Does the law protect the store from that liability? That person was only in your store for the free giveaways, yet they were injured in a way completely unrelated to those free items. Is your store still liable?

Every time anyone walks in the door of a store, they are generating liability for that store. Every customer is a potential slip-and-fall or similar lawsuit. And even if a legislature grants explicit protection against the food-safety liability portion, the store still has to worry about all the regular liability that comes with inviting people in your door. Any person who comes in with no intention of paying represents a liability with earnings to offset that risk.

Sure, stores can get a little positive publicity by giving away food, but how effective is that really? Can you tell me which stores within a five mile radius of you give their extra food away? Do you know that info off the top of your head? If not, then it's not an effective marketing tool.

There's a reason companies do this. Even with liability protection laws, it still costs money.