School Food Recovery Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5607 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a grant program to make grants to eligible local educational agencies to carry out food waste reduction programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 15, 2020 Ms. PINGREE (for herself, Mr. NEWHOUSE, and Ms. BONAMICI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a grant program to make grants to eligible local educational agencies to carry out food waste reduction programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Food Recovery 4 Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:55 Jan 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5607.IH H5607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5607 IH SEC. 2. SCHOOL FOOD WASTE REDUCTION GRANT PRO- 1 GRAM. 2 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 3 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended by inserting be- 4 fore subsection (b) the following: 5 ‘‘(a) SCHOOL FOOD WASTE REDUCTION GRANT PRO- 6 GRAM.— 7 ‘‘(1) GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 9 carry out a program to make grants, on a com- 10 petitive basis, to eligible local educational agen- 11 cies to carry out food waste measurement and 12 reporting, prevention, education, and reduction 13 projects. 14 ‘‘(B) REGIONAL BALANCE.—In awarding 15 grants under this subsection, the Secretary 16 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, en- 17 sure that— 18 ‘‘(i) a grant is awarded to an eligible 19 local educational agency in each region 20 served by the Administrator of the Food 21 and Nutrition Service; and 22 ‘‘(ii) equitable treatment of rural, 23 urban, and tribal communities. 24 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 25 grant under this subsection, an eligible local edu- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:55 Jan 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5607.IH H5607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5607 IH cational agency shall submit an application to the 1 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 2 taining such information as the Secretary may re- 3 quire. 4 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this 5 subsection the Secretary shall give priority to an eli- 6 gible local educational agency that demonstrates in 7 the application under paragraph (2) that such eligi- 8 ble local educational agency will use the grant to— 9 ‘‘(A) carry out experiential education ac- 10 tivities that encourage children enrolled in such 11 eligible local educational agency to participate 12 in food waste measurement and education; 13 ‘‘(B) prioritize the best use of food in ac- 14 cordance with the Food Recovery Hierarchy 15 published by the Administrator of the Environ- 16 mental Protection Agency; 17 ‘‘(C) with respect to food waste prevention 18 and reduction, collaborate with other eligible 19 local educational agencies, tribes, nongovern- 20 mental and community-based organizations, 21 and other community partners; 22 ‘‘(D) evaluate the activities described in 23 subparagraphs (A) through (C) and make eval- 24 uation plans; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:55 Jan 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5607.IH H5607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5607 IH ‘‘(E) establish a food waste measurement, 1 prevention, and reduction project with long- 2 term sustainability. 3 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 5 a food waste measurement, prevention, and re- 6 duction project funded through a grant awarded 7 under this subsection shall not exceed 75 per- 8 cent of the total cost of such food waste reduc- 9 tion project. 10 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL MATCHING.—As a condi- 11 tion of receiving a grant under this subsection, 12 an eligible local educational agency shall provide 13 matching funds in the form of cash or in-kind 14 contributions, including facilities, equipment, or 15 services provided by State and local govern- 16 ments, nonprofit organizations, and private 17 sources. 18 ‘‘(5) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible local edu- 19 cational agency that receives a grant under this sec- 20 tion shall use funds under such grant to carry out 21 at least one of the following: 22 ‘‘(A) Planning a food waste measurement, 23 prevention, and reduction project. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:55 Jan 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5607.IH H5607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5607 IH ‘‘(B) Carrying out activities under such a 1 project. 2 ‘‘(C) Providing training to support such a 3 project. 4 ‘‘(D) Purchasing equipment to support 5 such a project. 6 ‘‘(E) Offering food waste education to stu- 7 dents enrolled in such eligible local educational 8 agency. 9 ‘‘(6) EVALUATION.— 10 ‘‘(A) AGREEMENT.—As a condition of re- 11 ceiving a grant under this subsection, each eli- 12 gible local educational agency shall agree to co- 13 operate in an evaluation by the Secretary of the 14 project carried out using grant funds. 15 ‘‘(B) PERIODIC EVALUATION.—Not later 16 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of 17 this paragraph and every 2 years thereafter, the 18 Secretary shall carry out an evaluation of the 19 grants made under this section that includes— 20 ‘‘(i) the amount of Federal funds used 21 to carry out such grants; and 22 ‘‘(ii) an evaluation of the outcomes of 23 the projects carried out pursuant to such 24 grants. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:55 Jan 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5607.IH H5607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5607 IH ‘‘(7) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDU- 1 CATIONAL AGENCY.—In this subsection, the term ‘el- 2 igible local educational agency’ means a local edu- 3 cational agency that participates in the school lunch 4 program under this Act or the school breakfast pro- 5 gram established under section 4 of the Child Nutri- 6 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).’’. 7 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 8 Section 21(b) of the Richard B. Russell National 9 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b–1(b)) is amended— 10 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 11 end; 12 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(4) food waste measurement, prevention, and 16 reduction.’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:55 Jan 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5607.IH H5607 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS