I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3444 
To decrease the incidence of food waste, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 27, 2017 
Ms. PINGREE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and 
Means, Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Oversight 
and Government Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Food Recovery Act of 2017’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definition of Secretary. 
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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 incidence of food waste. 
TITLE II—RETAIL AND RESTAURANTS 
Sec. 201. Good Samaritan food donation. 
Sec. 202. Report on food donation by retail food stores. 
Sec. 203. Use of Commodity Credit Corporation funds to cover Emergency 
Food Assistance Program storage and distribution costs. 
Sec. 204. Expansion of charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory. 
TITLE III—SCHOOLS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS 
Sec. 301. Establishment of Food Recovery Liaison. 
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. Modification of National School Lunch Program procurement require-
ments to encourage purchase of lower-price, nonstandard-size 
or -shape produce. 
Sec. 305. Farm to school grant program to improve access to local foods in 
schools and reduce food waste. 
TITLE IV—FOOD DATE LABELING 
Sec. 401. Definitions. 
Sec. 402. Quality dates and safety dates. 
Sec. 403. Misbranding violation for quality dates and safety dates in food label-
ing. 
Sec. 404. Regulations and guidance. 
Sec. 405. Delayed applicability. 
Sec. 406. Report to Congress. 
TITLE V—CONSUMERS AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE 
Sec. 501. Support for national media campaigns to decrease incidence of food 
waste. 
Sec. 502. Increase in resources for community facilities loans directed at 
composting and anaerobic digestion food waste-to-energy oper-
ations. 
Sec. 503. 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 anaerobic digestion food 
waste-to-energy operations. 
Sec. 504. Grants for composting and anaerobic digestion food waste-to-energy 
projects. 
Sec. 505. Government Accountability Office audit. 
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SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec-
retary of Agriculture. 
TITLE I—FARMS 
SEC. 101. USE OF RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM 
TO REDUCE FOOD AND CROP WASTE. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS RELATING 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: 
‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO INSTALLA-
TION OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS.—In the case of a 
loan guarantee or grant provided under this sub-
section to an agricultural producer or rural small 
business to support the installation of an anaerobic 
digester that will use food waste in addition to ma-
nure to produce renewable energy, the Secretary 
shall obtain from the recipient of the loan guarantee 
or grant— 
‘‘(A) a written commitment that the recipi-
ent has read and agrees to comply with the 
Food Recovery Hierarchy of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, particularly as applied to 
apparently wholesome food (as defined in sec-
tion 22(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 
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(42 U.S.C. 1791(b)) that may be provided to, 
or received by, the recipient; and 
‘‘(B) a written end-product recycling plan 
that provides for the beneficial use of the mate-
rial resulting from the anaerobic digester, in a 
manner that meets all applicable Federal, 
State, and local laws safeguarding human 
health and the environment.’’. 
(b) FUNDING.—Section 9007(g)(1) of the Farm Se-
curity and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 
8107(g)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘fiscal 
year 2014 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’ and in-
serting ‘‘each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018; 
and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(F) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 and 
each fiscal year thereafter, of which not less 
than $20,000,000 shall be reserved for use for 
loan guarantees and grants described in sub-
section (c)(5).’’. 
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SEC. 102. FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOAN PROGRAM. 
Section 1614(a) of the Food, Conservation, and En-
ergy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8789(a)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘to construct or upgrade storage and handling facili-
ties’’ and inserting ‘‘to acquire, construct, or upgrade stor-
age, handling, and transportation facilities, which may in-
clude refrigerated vehicles to improve storage and mar-
keting and other means to reduce food waste,’’. 
SEC. 103. COMPOSTING AS CONSERVATION PRACTICE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1201(a) of the Food Se-
curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801(a)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 
(27) as paragraphs (4) through (28), respectively; 
and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) 
COMPOSTING
PRACTICE.—The 
term 
‘composting practice’ means— 
‘‘(A) an activity (including an activity that 
does not require the use of a composting facil-
ity) to produce compost from organic waste 
that is— 
‘‘(i) generated on a farm; or 
‘‘(ii) brought to a farm from the near-
by community; and 
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