Food Rescue Act
Sponsored By: Representative Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15]
Introduced
Summary
National Food Rescue System would coordinate recovery, processing, transportation, and distribution of surplus and donated food to emergency feeding organizations and food-insecure communities. It would create a competitive grant program and back logistics, cold-chain storage, and technology to match surplus food with local need.
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- Families and food-insecure households: Could see more consistent access to rescued food through coordinated distribution networks and last-mile delivery.
- Food rescue organizations and food banks: Could receive competitive grants to fund recovery, transportation, cold storage, processing or repackaging, matching technology, staff, and other operational costs.
- USDA and partnering programs: The Food and Nutrition Service would run the system and coordinate it with existing efforts like the Farm-to-Food Bank Project while providing technical assistance and data systems to track and redirect surplus food.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
National Food Rescue Grants Program
If enacted, the Agriculture Secretary would create and run a National Food Rescue System. It would identify surplus food from farms, manufacturers, stores, and distributors and help recover, process, store, and deliver it to food banks and emergency feeding groups. The bill would create a competitive grant program to pay nonprofit food rescue groups and partners for recovery, transport (including cold storage), processing, matching technology, staff, and some administrative costs. Applicants would have to report expected pounds recovered and estimated households served. The program would be authorized with "such sums as may be necessary" and would take effect upon enactment.
Funding rules for food rescue grants
If enacted, the bill would amend an existing Emergency Food Assistance Act cross-reference to say money appropriated for the new food rescue grants is excluded from that phrase. In plain terms, funds for the new program would be treated separately from the funds mentioned in the existing food-bank project rule. The change would take effect upon enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15]
NY • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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