I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4184 
To decrease the incidence of food waste, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 7, 2015 
Ms. PINGREE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on House Ad-
ministration, Oversight and Government Reform, Ways and Means, Edu-
cation and the Workforce, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to 
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To decrease the incidence of food waste, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food Recovery Act 
of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
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TITLE I—FARMS 
Sec. 101. Use of Rural Energy for America Program to reduce food and crop 
waste. 
Sec. 102. Farm storage facility loan program. 
Sec. 103. Composting as conservation practice. 
Sec. 104. Study and report on methods to decrease the incidence of food waste. 
TITLE II—RETAIL AND RESTAURANTS 
Sec. 201. Extension and expansion of charitable deduction for contributions of 
food inventory. 
Sec. 202. Good Samaritan food donation. 
Sec. 203. Report on food donation by retail food stores. 
Sec. 204. Use of Commodity Credit Corporation funds to cover Emergency 
Food Assistance Program storage and distribution costs. 
TITLE III—SCHOOLS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS 
Sec. 301. Establishment of the Office of Food Recovery. 
Sec. 302. Amendments to Federal Food Donation Act to require food donations 
by executive agencies and Congress. 
Sec. 303. Food and agriculture service learning program. 
Sec. 304. Farm to school grant program to improve access to local foods in 
schools and reduce food waste. 
Sec. 305. Modification of National School Lunch Program procurement require-
ments to encourage purchase of lower-price, non-standard size 
or shape produce. 
TITLE IV—CONSUMERS AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE 
Sec. 401. Food date labeling. 
Sec. 402. Support for national media campaigns to decrease the incidence of 
food waste. 
Sec. 403. Increase in resources for community facilities loans directed at 
composting and waste-to-energy operations. 
Sec. 404. Expansion of rural utilities service water and waste disposal program 
to provide loans and grants for rural communities to adapt 
waste disposal facilities to incorporate food waste-to-energy op-
erations. 
Sec. 405. Grants for composting and food waste-to-energy projects. 
TITLE I—FARMS 
SEC. 101. USE OF RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM 
TO REDUCE FOOD AND CROP WASTE. 
(a) INCREASED FUNDING.—Section 9007(g)(1) of 
the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 
U.S.C. 8107(g)(1)) is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (D); 
(2) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘fiscal 
year 2014 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’ and in-
serting ‘‘each of fiscal years 2014 and 2015; and’’; 
and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(F) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2016 and 
each fiscal year thereafter.’’. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO INSTALLATION OF 
ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS.—Section 9007(c) of the Farm 
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 
8107(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO INSTALLA-
TION OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a loan 
guarantee or grant under this subsection to an 
agricultural producer or rural small business to 
support the installation of an anaerobic digester 
that will use food or crop waste, or both, to 
produce energy, the Secretary shall obtain from 
the recipient— 
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‘‘(i) a written agreement entered into 
between the recipient and a hunger-serving 
organization providing for the recipient 
and the organization to work together to 
ensure that apparently wholesome food (as 
defined in section 170(e)(3)(C)(iii) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986) generated 
by or provided to the recipient for use in 
the anaerobic digester is redistributed to 
the organization for provision to people in 
need of food; and 
‘‘(ii) a written end-product recycling 
plan, which shall provide for the disposal 
of the material resulting from the anaer-
obic digester, is made, in accordance with 
guidelines which the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency shall es-
tablish, that ensures that the disposal of 
such material does not create an environ-
mental hazard. 
‘‘(B) 
HUNGER-SERVING
ORGANIZATION 
DEFINED.—In subparagraph (A), the term 
‘hunger-serving organization’ means— 
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‘‘(i) a food bank (as defined in section 
201A(5) of the Emergency Food Assist-
ance Act of 1983); 
‘‘(ii) a food pantry (as defined in sec-
tion 201A(6) of such Act); or 
‘‘(iii) a soup kitchen (as defined in 
section 201A(8) of such Act).’’. 
(c) SET-ASIDE FOR ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS.—Sec-
tion 9007(g) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 
Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107(g)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) SET-ASIDE FOR ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS.— 
Of the funds made available for each fiscal year 
under this subsection, not less than $20,000,000 
shall be available to support the installation of an-
aerobic digesters that use food or crop waste, or 
both, to produce energy. Such funds shall remain 
available until expended.’’. 
SEC. 102. FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOAN PROGRAM. 
(a) INCLUSION OF REFRIGERATED VEHICLE AS ELI-
GIBLE FACILITY.—Section 1614(a) of the Food, Con-
servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8789(a)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘construct or upgrade storage and 
handling facilities’’ and inserting ‘‘acquire, construct, or 
upgrade storage, handling, and transportation facilities, 
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which may include refrigerated vehicles to improve storage 
and marketing,’’. 
(b) SET-ASIDE TO IMPROVE PRODUCER AND EMER-
GENCY FEEDING ORGANIZATION COOPERATION.—Section 
1614 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 
(7 U.S.C. 8789) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(g) SET-ASIDE TO IMPROVE COOPERATION BE-
TWEEN PRODUCERS AND EMERGENCY FEEDING ORGANI-
ZATIONS.—Of the funds made available for a fiscal year 
for storage facility loans under this section, the Secretary 
shall reserve at least 5 percent for eligible producers that, 
in cooperation with an emergency feeding organization, 
agree to use the storage facility loan to acquire, construct, 
or upgrade storage, handling, and transportation facilities 
to improve the ability of the producer to provide commod-
ities to an emergency feeding organization and the ability 
of the emergency feeding organization to provide commod-
ities to eligible recipients. In this subsection, the term 
‘emergency feeding organization’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 201A of the Emergency Food Assist-
ance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501).’’. 
SEC. 103. COMPOSTING AS CONSERVATION PRACTICE. 
Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3801 et seq.) is amended— 
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(1) in section 1201(a), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(28) 
COMPOSTING
PRACTICE.—The 
term 
‘composting practice’ includes— 
‘‘(A) activities to produce compost, includ-
ing activities that do not require the use of a 
composting facility; and 
‘‘(B) the use of compost.’’; 
(2) in section 1238D(2)(B)(i), by inserting 
‘‘and composting practices’’ after ‘‘agriculture drain-
age management systems’’; and 
(3) in section 1240A(4)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘, 
including composting practices’’ before the semi-
colon. 
SEC. 104. STUDY AND REPORT ON METHODS TO DECREASE 
THE INCIDENCE OF FOOD WASTE. 
(a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall con-
duct a study on— 
(1) new technologies to increase the period dur-
ing which an agricultural product may be stored be-
fore such product is considered adulterated under 
State or Federal law; and 
(2) a method to measure the amount of agricul-
tural products that are disposed of each year by the 
farms that produce such products. 
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(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall submit to Congress a report that contains— 
(1) the results of the study conducted under 
subsection (a); and 
(2) the recommendations of the Secretary with 
respect to methods of decreasing the incidence of 
food waste. 
(c) AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT DEFINED.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘agricultural product’’ has the meaning 
given the term ‘‘agricultural products’’ in section 207 of 
the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1626). 
TITLE II—RETAIL AND 
RESTAURANTS 
SEC. 201. EXTENSION AND EXPANSION OF CHARITABLE DE-
DUCTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS OF FOOD IN-
VENTORY. 
(a) PERMANENT EXTENSION.—Section 170(e)(3)(C) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik-
ing clause (iv). 
(b) INCREASE IN LIMITATION.—Section 170(e)(3)(C) 
of such Code, as amended by subsection (a), is amended 
by striking clause (ii), by redesignating clause (iii) as 
clause (iv), and by inserting after clause (i) the following 
new clauses: 
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‘‘(ii) 
LIMITATION.—The 
aggregate 
amount of such contributions for any tax-
able year which may be taken into account 
under this section shall not exceed— 
‘‘(I) in the case of any taxpayer 
other than a C corporation, 15 per-
cent of the taxpayer’s aggregate net 
income for such taxable year from all 
trades or businesses from which such 
contributions were made for such 
year, computed without regard to this 
section, and 
‘‘(II) in the case of a C corpora-
tion, 15 percent of taxable income (as 
defined in subsection (b)(2)(D)). 
‘‘(iii) RULES
RELATED
TO
LIMITA-
TION.— 
‘‘(I) CARRYOVER.—If such aggre-
gate amount exceeds the limitation 
imposed under clause (ii), such excess 
shall be treated (in a manner con-
sistent with the rules of subsection 
(d)) as a charitable contribution de-
scribed in clause (i) in each of the 5 
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succeeding taxable years in order of 
time. 
‘‘(II) COORDINATION WITH OVER-
ALL CORPORATE LIMITATION.—In the 
case of any charitable contribution al-
lowable under clause (ii)(II), sub-
section (b)(2)(A) shall not apply to 
such contribution, but the limitation 
imposed by such subsection shall be 
reduced (but not below zero) by the 
aggregate amount of such contribu-
tions. For purposes of subsection 
(b)(2)(B), such contributions shall be 
treated as allowable under subsection 
(b)(2)(A).’’. 
(c) DETERMINATION OF BASIS FOR CERTAIN TAX-
PAYERS.—Section 170(e)(3)(C) of such Code, as amended 
by subsections (a) and (b), is amended by adding at the 
end the following new clause: 
‘‘(v) DETERMINATION OF BASIS FOR 
CERTAIN TAXPAYERS.—If a taxpayer— 
‘‘(I) does not account for inven-
tories under section 471, and 
‘‘(II) is not required to capitalize 
indirect costs under section 263A, 
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the taxpayer may elect, solely for purposes 
of subparagraph (B), to treat the basis of 
any apparently wholesome food as being 
equal to 25 percent of the fair market 
value of such food.’’. 
(d) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET VALUE.— 
Section 170(e)(3)(C) of such Code, as amended by sub-
sections (a), (b), and (c), is amended by adding at the 
end the following new clause: 
‘‘(vi) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MAR-
KET VALUE.—In the case of any such con-
tribution of apparently wholesome food 
which cannot or will not be sold solely by 
reason of internal standards of the tax-
payer, lack of market, or similar cir-
cumstances, or by reason of being pro-
duced by the taxpayer exclusively for the 
purposes of transferring the food to an or-
ganization described in subparagraph (A), 
the fair market value of such contribution 
shall be determined— 
‘‘(I) without regard to such inter-
nal standards, such lack of market, 
such circumstances, or such exclusive 
purpose, and 
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‘‘(II) by taking into account the 
price at which the same or substan-
tially the same food items (as to both 
type and quality) are sold by the tax-
payer at the time of the contribution 
(or, if not so sold at such time, in the 
recent past).’’. 
(e) 
NONPROFIT
RETAIL
SALES.—Section 
170(e)(3)(C) of such Code, as amended by subsections (a), 
(b), (c), and (d), is amended by adding at the end the 
following new clause: 
‘‘(vii) NONPROFIT RETAIL SALE.—For 
purposes of clause (i), a charitable con-
tribution of food includes a contribution to 
or for the use of an organization described 
in subsection (c) that is a food bank, food 
pantry, soup kitchen, or other similar orga-
nization which holds such food for non-
profit retail sale. For purposes of the pre-
ceding sentence, the terms ‘food bank’, 
‘food pantry’, and ‘soup kitchen’ have the 
meanings given such terms by section 
201A of the Emergency Food Assistance 
Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501).’’. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro-
vided in this subsection, the amendments made by 
this section shall apply to contributions made after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, in taxable 
years ending after such date. 
(2) LIMITATION; APPLICABILITY TO C CORPORA-
TIONS.—The amendments made by subsection (b) 
shall apply to contributions made in taxable years 
ending after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 202. GOOD SAMARITAN FOOD DONATION. 
(a) DEFINITION OF ULTIMATE DISTRIBUTION.—Sec-
tion 22(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1791(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(11) ULTIMATE
DISTRIBUTION.—The term 
‘ultimate distribution’ means any method by which 
an individual receives a product from an entity, in-
cluding by donation or at a reduced cost.’’. 
(b) LOCAL HEALTH LAWS AND REGULATIONS.—Sec-
tion 22 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1791) is amended— 
(1) in subsections (b)(1), (b)(2), and (e) by 
striking ‘‘Federal, State, and local’’ and inserting 
‘‘Federal and State’’; and 
(2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘or local’’. 
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(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 22(e)(2) of 
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1791(e)(2)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘distribution’’ and inserting ‘‘ulti-
mate distribution to needy individuals’’. 
SEC. 203. REPORT ON FOOD DONATION BY RETAIL FOOD 
STORES. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to 
Congress a report that contains the recommendations of 
the Secretary with respect to methods of increasing food 
donation by retail food stores, as defined by the Secretary. 
SEC. 204. USE OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION 
FUNDS TO COVER EMERGENCY FOOD ASSIST-
ANCE PROGRAM STORAGE AND DISTRIBU-
TION COSTS. 
(a) USE
OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION 
FUNDS.—Section 204(a)(1) of the Emergency Food As-
sistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7508(a)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘There are 
authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for fis-
cal year 2008 and each fiscal year thereafter, for the 
Secretary to make available to the States’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Using funds of the Commodity Credit Cor-
poration, the Secretary shall make available to the 
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States $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2016 and each 
fiscal year thereafter’’; and 
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Funds 
appropriated’’ and inserting ‘‘Funds made avail-
able’’. 
(b) RELATION TO OTHER COMMODITY CREDIT COR-
PORATION EXPENDITURES.—Section 204(b) of the Emer-
gency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7508(b)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘appropriations made or author-
ized under this section’’ and inserting ‘‘amounts made 
available under subsection (a)(1)’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The heading of section 
204 of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 
U.S.C. 7508) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 204. FUNDS FOR STATE STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION 
COSTS.’’. 
TITLE III—SCHOOLS AND OTHER 
INSTITUTIONS 
SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF FOOD RE-
COVERY. 
The Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department 
of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by 
inserting after section 309 (7 U.S.C. 6921) the following 
new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 310. OFFICE OF FOOD RECOVERY. 
‘‘(a) OFFICE ESTABLISHED.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture shall establish within the Department of Agri-
culture an office to be known as the ‘Office of Food Recov-
ery’ to coordinate Federal programs to measure and re-
duce the incidence of food waste. 
‘‘(b) DIRECTOR OF FOOD RECOVERY.—The Office 
shall be headed by a Director, to be appointed by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Director of the Office of Food 
Recovery shall— 
‘‘(1) support and promote Federal programs to 
reduce the incidence of food waste; and 
‘‘(2) make recommendations with respect to re-
ducing the incidence of food waste.’’. 
SEC. 302. AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL FOOD DONATION ACT 
TO REQUIRE FOOD DONATIONS BY EXECU-
TIVE AGENCIES AND CONGRESS. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Federal Food Donation 
Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–247; 42 U.S.C. 1792) is 
amended— 
(1) in section 2, by striking ‘‘encourage’’ and 
inserting ‘‘require’’; and 
(2) in section 4(a)(1), by striking ‘‘encourages’’ 
and inserting ‘‘requires’’. 
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(b) DEFINITION OF AGENCIES COVERED.—Section 3 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘executive 
agency’ has the meaning provided that term in sec-
tion 133 of title 41, United States Code.’’. 
(c) DEADLINE.—Section 4(a) of such Act is amended 
by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and all that follows through 
‘‘421)’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of the Food Recovery Act of 2015, 
the Federal Acquisition Regulation issued in accordance 
with section 1121 of title 41, United States Code,’’. 
(d) EXPANSION OF CONTRACTS COVERED.—Section 
4(a) of such Act is amended by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and 
inserting ‘‘$10,000’’. 
(e) COVERAGE OF CONGRESS.—Section 4 of such Act 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION TO CONGRESS.— 
‘‘(1) CONTRACTS.—This Act shall apply to the 
House of Representatives and to contracts entered 
into by the House of Representatives, and to the 
Senate and to contracts entered into by the Senate, 
in the same manner and to the same extent as this 
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