Food Waste Reduction Act: New Office, Grants, and National Education Campaign
This Act establishes the Office of Food Loss and Waste within the Department of Agriculture to achieve the goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030. Citizens will benefit from a national education campaign teaching them better food storage and how to distinguish between quality and safety dates, potentially lowering household food expenses. Furthermore, the Act supports local food recovery organizations, increasing the availability of surplus, wholesome food for communities in need.
Key points
Establishment of the Office of Food Loss and Waste to conduct research, collect data, and create model policies for local governments.
Launch of a national education campaign to teach consumers how to prevent food waste at home (e.g., better storage and understanding date labels).
Federal contractors are required to report and actively reduce food loss and waste in their operations.
Creation of regional coordinators and block grants for states and tribes to develop food recovery infrastructure (e.g., cold storage, transport) to facilitate the distribution of surplus food to those in need.
Prioritization of agricultural research grants focused on reducing food loss, including using wholesome uneaten food as animal feed ingredients.
Introduced
Citizen Poll