H.R. 7144

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7144 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7144

To amend the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to establish a 
national food rescue system through partnerships with food rescue 
organizations.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 16, 2026

Mr. Torres of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to establish a 
national food rescue system through partnerships with food rescue 
organizations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Food Rescue Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL FOOD RESCUE SYSTEM.

The Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 216. NATIONAL FOOD RESCUE SYSTEM.

``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 
the Food and Nutrition Service, shall establish and operate a national 
food rescue system to coordinate the recovery, processing, 
transportation, and distribution of surplus and donated food to 
emergency feeding organizations and food-insecure communities.
``(b) Activities.--In carrying out subsection (a), food rescue 
organizations shall--
``(1) identify sources of surplus or excess food across the 
agricultural, retail, manufacturing, and distribution sectors;
``(2) develop and maintain partnerships with nonprofit food 
rescue organizations, food banks, and local agencies to recover 
and distribute such food;
``(3) expand and strengthen logistics and infrastructure 
necessary for food rescue, including aggregation sites, 
transportation, cold-chain storage, and last-mile delivery;
``(4) support technology platforms and data systems used to 
identify, track, and redirect surplus food; and
``(5) provide technical assistance to participating 
entities to enhance efficiency and coordination.
``(c) Grant Program.--To carry out this section, the Secretary 
shall establish a competitive grant program to support activities 
described in subsection (b).
``(d) Eligible Entities.--Grants under this section shall be 
awarded to food rescue organizations, which may carry out projects in 
partnership with food banks, food recovery networks, State, local, 
Tribal, or Territorial governments, logistics providers, front-line 
emergency food providers, and other relevant partners.
``(e) Use of Funds.--Grant funds may be used for--
``(1) food rescue and recovery operations, including 
gleaning and aggregation;
``(2) transportation and delivery of surplus food, 
including cold-chain logistics;
``(3) storage, processing, or repackaging infrastructure 
needed for redistribution;
``(4) technology used to match surplus food with receiving 
organizations in real time;
``(5) personnel, equipment, or operational needs that 
support food rescue activities; and
``(6) administrative costs, as determined appropriate by 
the Secretary.
``(f) Application Requirements.--An eligible entity seeking a grant 
under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, including--
``(1) a description of the proposed project and expected 
food-rescue impact, including estimated pounds of food 
recovered and households served;
``(2) identification of participating partners, including 
producers, distributors, retailers, or logistics entities;
``(3) a budget and implementation timeline; and
``(4) a plan for sourcing, transporting, storing, and 
delivering surplus food to emergency feeding organizations and 
food-insecure communities.
``(g) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate activities 
under this section with--
``(1) programs authorized under the Emergency Food 
Assistance Act of 1983;
``(2) the Farm-to-Food Bank Project established under 
section 203D; and
``(3) other USDA efforts to reduce food loss and waste.
``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
section.''.

SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

Section 203D(b) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 
U.S.C. 7507(b)) is amended by inserting ``(excluding funds appropriated 
under section 216)'' after ``appropriated under this Act''.
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