Farm to Food Bank Enhancement Act of 2020

To provide additional agricultural products for distribution by emergency feeding organizations during the COVID-19 public health emergency. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Farm to Food Bank Enhancement Act of 2020 2. Enhanced projects to harvest, process, package, or transport donated commodities (a) Definitions In this section: (1) COVID– 19 The term COVID-19 (2) Emergency feeding organization The term emergency feeding organization 7 U.S.C. 7501 (3) Project The term project 7 U.S.C. 7507(d)(1) (4) Priority agricultural product The term priority agricultural product (A) packaged or marketed for sale to commercial or food service industries; (B) for which decreased demand exists for such a product due to the COVID–19 outbreak; and (C) the repurposing of which would be impractical for grocery or retail sale. (5) Secretary The term Secretary (6) State The term State 7 U.S.C. 7507 (7) State agency The term State agency 7 U.S.C. 7507 (b) Enhanced projects (1) In general Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), using funds made available under subsection (d), the Secretary may provide funds to States to pay for harvesting, processing, packaging, or transportation costs of carrying out a project. (2) Guidance Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue guidance to States— (A) to carry out this section; (B) to inform States of their allocations under paragraph (3); and (C) to encourage States to carry out projects that work with agricultural producers, processors, and distributors with priority agricultural products. (3) Allocation (A) Eligibility for allocation The Secretary shall allocate funds made available under subsection (d) based on the formula in effect under section 214(a) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 ( 7 U.S.C. 7515(a) (i) a list of emergency feeding organizations in the State that will operate the project in partnership with the State agency; (ii) at the option of the State, a list of priority agricultural products located in the State that are for donation to emergency feeding organizations and ready for transport; (iii) a description of how the project will meet the purposes described in section 203D(d)(3) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 ( 7 U.S.C. 7507(d)(3) (iv) a timeline of when the project will begin operating. (B) Reallocation If the Secretary determines that a State will not expend all the funds allocated to the State under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall reallocate the unexpended funds to other eligible States. (C) Report Each State that receives funds allocated under this paragraph shall submit to the Secretary financial reports on a regular basis describing the use of the funds. (4) Use of funds (A) In general A State that receives funds under section 203D(d)(5) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 ( 7 U.S.C. 7507(d)(5) (i) receive funds under this section; and (ii) use funds received under this section— (I) to expand projects for which funds are received under such section 203D(d)(5); and (II) to carry out new projects with agricultural producers, processors, or distributors participating in projects for which funds are received under such section 203D(d)(5). (B) Federal share Funds received under this section shall not be subject to the Federal share limitation described in section 203D(d)(2)(B) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 ( 7 U.S.C. 7507(d)(2)(B) (c) Cooperative agreements (1) In general A State agency that carries out a project using Federal funds received under this section may enter into cooperative agreements with State agencies of other States under section 203B(d) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 ( 7 U.S.C. 7507(d) (2) Submission Not later than 15 days after entering into a cooperative agreement under subparagraph (A), a State agency shall submit such agreement to the Secretary. (d) Appropriation of funds Out of funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 to remain available until September 30, 2021. Such funds are designated by Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 ( 2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i) (e) Public availability Not later than 10 days after the date of the receipt or issuance of each document listed in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection, the Secretary shall make publicly available on the website of the Department of Agriculture the following documents: (1) Any guidance issued under subsection (b)(2). (2) A State plan or operation or report submitted in accordance with subsection (b)(3). (3) A cooperative agreement submitted in accordance with subsection (c).

Summary: Farm to Food Bank Enhancement Act of 2020 This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide enhanced funding to states to pay for projects to harvest, process, package, or transport donated commodities. USDA must issue guidance to states to encourage them to carry out projects that work with agricultural producers, processors, and distributors who grow or market products that have seen decreased demand due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak and cannot easily be repackaged for grocery or retail sale. To be eligible for funding, a state must submit a plan of operation for a project that includes (1) a list of emergency feeding organizations in the state that are willing to partner with the state; (2) a list of priority agricultural products located in the state that are for donation to emergency feeding organizations and ready for transport; (3) a description of how the project will serve certain purposes, including to provide food to individuals in need; and (4) a timeline for the project. USDA may reallocate unexpended funds to other eligible states if it determines that a state will not use all of its allocated funds. The bill allows states to enter into cooperative agreements with other states to maximize the use of donated commodities. USDA must make specified documents publicly available on its website, including any guidance issued to states in accordance with the bill.