Congress 114 - HR 4184 - Food Recovery Act of 2015

Sponsor

Cosponsors

Topics

Agricultural conservation and pollution Agricultural education Agricultural equipment and machinery Agricultural practices and innovations Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit Agriculture and Food Alternative and renewable resources Charitable contributions Child health Department of Agriculture Elementary and secondary education Executive agency funding and structure Food assistance and relief Food industry and services Food supply, safety, and labeling Fruit and vegetables Government information and archives Government lending and loan guarantees Government studies and investigations Income tax deductions Nutrition and diet Public contracts and procurement Retail and wholesale trades Rural conditions and development Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations Solid waste and recycling

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Summary

Food Recovery Act of 2015

This bill amends the following to provide funding, expand tax deductions, and establish requirements to reduce food waste: the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; the Internal Revenue Code; the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act; and several agricultural laws.

The bill expands and establishes federal grant and loan programs to:

improve the nutritional health of children and raise awareness about food waste,
improve cooperation between agricultural producers and emergency feeding organizations,
assist schools in using food from farms that would otherwise go to waste and providing farms with compostable materials, and
install facilities that include composting or anaerobic digesters that use food or crop waste to produce energy.

Recipients of grants to install anaerobic digesters that use waste to produce energy must meet specified requirements regarding environmental laws and the distribution of certain food to hunger-serving organizations.

USDA must: (1) establish an Office of Food Recovery to coordinate federal programs to measure and reduce food waste, and (2) study techniques for decreasing food waste and estimating the amount of food wasted by farms.

The bill provides that composting is a conservation practice eligible for support under USDA's conservation programs.

The bill extends and expands tax deductions for the donation of food to charitable organizations.

"Sell-by" dates included on food labeling must indicate that the dates are only the manufacturer's suggestion and use uniform language.

Companies that receive food service contracts with the federal government must donate surplus food to nonprofit organizations that assist food-insecure people.

Actions

Mar 23, 2016

Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
Dec 11, 2015

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Dec 9, 2015

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H9089)
Dec 7, 2015

Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Dec 7, 2015

Introduced in House

Amendments

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