Sponsor
Ritchie Torres
Representative · D-NY
Representative · D-NY
The bill expands rescued-food distribution and builds capacity and coordination for local recovery networks to reduce hunger and waste, but it increases federal spending and could create food-safety and administrative challenges if not carefully implemented.
Low-income individuals and households will receive increased quantities of rescued surplus food, improving food access for food-insecure families.
Emergency feeding organizations and food banks can expand cold storage, processing, and last-mile delivery capacity through grant funding, enabling more reliable and larger-scale distribution of rescued food.
Nonprofits and local recovery networks will receive grants for technology, data systems, and technical assistance to better match surplus food to need, improving coordination with USDA programs, increasing efficiency, and reducing waste.
Taxpayers may face higher federal spending because the section authorizes 'such sums as may be necessary' without specifying an appropriation level.
Recipients—particularly low-income individuals—could face food-safety risks if redistributed surplus food is not properly managed, since the section lacks explicit statutory safety standards.
Smaller local food programs may incur administrative burdens from applying for competitive grants, diverting staff time and resources away from direct service delivery.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes USDA to create a national food rescue system and competitive grants to fund recovery, storage, transport, processing, and distribution of surplus/donated food.
Official title: To amend the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to establish a national food rescue system through partnerships with food rescue organizations.
Introduced January 16, 2026 by Ritchie Torres · Last progress January 16, 2026
Creates a new national food rescue system at USDA to coordinate recovery, processing, transport, and distribution of surplus and donated food to emergency feeding organizations and food‑insecure communities, and establishes a competitive grant program to fund sourcing, logistics, cold‑chain, storage/processing, technology, and related technical assistance. The bill adds a new program to the Emergency Food Assistance Act, defines eligible "food rescue organizations," lists allowable uses of grant funds, requires applications to describe partners, quantities, and logistics, requires coordination with existing USDA food programs, and authorizes whatever sums are necessary to carry out the program.