Title 7 — AgricultureRelease 119-73not60

§6924 Food Loss and Waste Reduction Liaison

Title 7 › Chapter 98— DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE REORGANIZATION › Subchapter I— GENERAL REORGANIZATION AUTHORITIES › § 6924

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must set up a Food Loss and Waste Reduction Liaison to help measure and cut food loss and waste. The Liaison will work inside the Department of Agriculture and with other federal agencies (like the EPA and FDA). The Liaison will back and promote programs that measure and reduce waste and increase food recovery, share information about available programs and who can join them, tell people about liability protections under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (42 U.S.C. 1791), and suggest new recovery ideas and ways to reduce waste. The Liaison can make agreements with research centers, colleges, or nonprofits to make materials, run workshops, and study best practices. The Secretary must do a study with the Liaison on how to measure waste, set volume standards, find causes, estimate cost and amount lost, check how the Good Samaritan liability rules work, and make sure USDA actions do not disrupt existing commercial recovery or disposal. Within 1 year after December 20, 2018, the Liaison must report the study results to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Within 1 year after that report, the Secretary must report the prior year’s food-waste estimate and USDA’s reduction activities to those same committees.

Full Legal Text

Title 7, §6924

Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall establish a Food Loss and Waste Reduction Liaison to coordinate Federal, State, local, and nongovernmental programs, and other efforts, to measure and reduce the incidence of food loss and waste in accordance with this section.

(b)The Food Loss and Waste Reduction Liaison shall—

(1)coordinate food loss and waste reduction efforts within the Department of Agriculture and with other Federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration;

(2)support and promote Federal programs to measure and reduce the incidence of food loss and waste and increase food recovery;

(3)provide information to, and serve as a resource for, entities engaged in food loss and waste reduction and food recovery, including information about the availability of, and eligibility requirements for, participation in Federal, State, local, and nongovernmental programs;

(4)raise awareness of the liability protections afforded under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (42 U.S.C. 1791) to persons engaged in food loss and waste reduction and food recovery; and

(5)make recommendations with respect to expanding innovative food recovery models and reducing the incidence of food loss and waste.

(c)For purposes of carrying out the duties under subsection (b), the Food Loss and Waste Reduction Liaison may enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with the research centers of the Research, Education, and Economics mission area, institutions of higher education (as defined in section 1001 of title 20), or nonprofit organizations for—

(1)the development of educational materials;

(2)the conduct of workshops and courses; or

(3)the conduct of research on best practices with respect to food loss and waste reduction and food recovery.

(d)The Secretary shall conduct a study, in consultation with the Food Loss and Waste Reduction Liaison, to evaluate and determine—

(1)methods of measuring food waste;

(2)standards for the volume of food waste;

(3)factors that contribute to food waste;

(4)the cost and volume of food loss;

(5)the effectiveness of existing liability protections afforded under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (42 U.S.C. 1791); and

(6)measures to ensure that programs contemplated, undertaken, or funded by the Department of Agriculture do not disrupt existing food waste recovery and disposal efforts by commercial, marketing, or business relationships.

(e)(1)Not later than 1 year after December 20, 2018, the Food Loss and Waste Liaison shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes the results of the study conducted under subsection (d).

(2)Not later than 1 year after the date of the submission of the report under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that contains, with respect to the preceding year—

(A)an estimate of the quantity of food waste during such year; and

(B)the results of the food waste reduction and loss prevention activities carried out or led by the Department of Agriculture.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

7 U.S.C. § 6924

Title 7 — Agriculture

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60