Sec. 4. Food purchase partnerships
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/bill/116/s/3840/is/section-4A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In this section: The term eligible feeding organization means a public or private nonprofit organization (including a tribal organization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ))), or a restaurant operating an emergency feeding or food relief program, that distributes donated eligible food or meals prepared, at least in part, from eligible food. The term eligible food means meat, poultry, eggs, fluid milk, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, seafood, and other unprocessed or minimally processed food that— is produced and processed in the United States; and would otherwise be unharvested or surplus if not donated.
The term food value — means the typical wholesale value of food being donated in a nonsurplus situation; and may be adjusted to reflect the typical premium associated with local food, organic food, or other premiums. The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term Indian tribe in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 ). The term Secretary means the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service.
The term State means— each of the several States of the United States; the District of Columbia; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; the United States Virgin Islands; Guam; American Samoa; and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Not later than 15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish— the State and Tribal surplus food purchase program in accordance with subsection (c); and the Federal surplus food reimbursement program in accordance with subsection (d).
The purposes of the programs established under paragraph
(1)shall be— to facilitate the purchase and donation of eligible food; to provide nutrition assistance to individuals facing food insecurity; to encourage the use of available infrastructure and resources to respond to COVID–19-related food supply chain disruptions; and to reduce food waste. To advance the purposes described in subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall carry out a State and Tribal surplus food purchase program, under which the Secretary shall provide funding to States and Indian Tribes to administer a grant or other reimbursement program to purchase surplus eligible food and distribute the food to eligible feeding organizations. Not later than 15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide instructions for States and Indian Tribes seeking funding under this subsection. A State or Indian Tribe seeking funding under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary an initial application that— designates the one or more lead agencies of the State or Indian Tribe for administering the grant or other reimbursement program; and includes a plan for administering the grant or other reimbursement program in accordance with paragraph (4). Two or more States, Indian Tribes, or combinations of States and Indian Tribes— may jointly submit an initial application under subparagraph (A); and shall be eligible to receive a combination of the amounts provided under the initial allocation under paragraph (5). The State or Tribal plan described in paragraph (3)(A)(ii) shall include descriptions of— how the lead agencies of a State or Indian Tribe, or a joint applicant under paragraph (3)(B), will— facilitate connecting producers of surplus eligible food with eligible feeding organizations; and make available to individuals information relating to how to access food or meals provided through the program under this subsection; mechanisms that eligible feeding organizations will use to distribute food and meals under the program under this subsection; how the plan advances the purposes described in subsection (b)(2); and how innovative partnerships with organizations serving at-risk populations or facilities that have unused capacity due to the COVID–19 emergency (including restaurants, hospitality companies, schools, senior centers, afterschool programs, sports franchises or other enterprises, distributors, and other public or private organizations) will be encouraged and supported under the plan. Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall distribute $1,000,000,000 to States and Indian Tribes under this subsection. In distributing amounts under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall allocate not less than— $5,000,000 for each State; and $200,000 for each Indian Tribe. In allocating amounts under subparagraph (B), subject to the limitations described in that subparagraph, the Secretary shall allocate— 50 percent based on— in the case of States, the formula used to allocate among States the commodities and funding available under the emergency food assistance program established under the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 ( 7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.), using the most current data available as of the date of enactment of this Act; and in the case of Indian Tribes, a formula determined by the Secretary, in consultation with Indian Tribes, that is based on poverty rates, unemployment rates, and rates of participation in Federal feeding programs; and 50 percent based on the market value of agricultural products sold within each State or Tribal area, including agricultural products produced by the members of each Indian Tribe or Tribal businesses or enterprises, weighted such that ¼ of the amount under this clause is based on each of— dairy and eggs; meat and poultry; vegetables; and fruit. The Secretary may— reallocate to States or Indian Tribes described in subparagraph
(B)amounts initially allocated under this subsection to a State or Indian Tribe that— did not submit an application under paragraph (3); or did not use the full amount allocated to the State or Indian Tribe; and distribute such sums as are necessary of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation in addition to the amount made available under paragraph (5)(A) to States or Indian Tribes described in subparagraph (B). The Secretary shall distribute amounts reallocated or distributed under subparagraph
(A)to States or Indian Tribes that— demonstrate additional need; or have leveraged the amounts initially allocated to the State or Indian Tribe to form innovative partnerships described in paragraph (4)(D). A State or Indian Tribe receiving funding under this subsection may not use more than 8 percent for administrative expenses. The combination of all purchases of eligible food or other reimbursements provided by a State or Indian Tribe for eligible food through a program under this subsection shall not exceed 100 percent of the food value of the eligible food. In this subsection: The term eligible expenses means harvesting, processing, packaging, cold storage prior to delivery to the eligible feeding organization, meeting food safety requirements, repacking, meal preparation, transportation, and related costs, as determined by the Secretary. The term eligible food organization means— a farming cooperative; a farmers organization, food hub, food distributor, majority-controlled producer-based business venture (as defined in section 210A(a) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 ( 7 U.S.C. 1627c(a) )), or other food aggregator; and a food processor. The term eligible partnership means a partnership between an eligible food organization and an eligible feeding organization (including any other entity that provides necessary services for the partnership that incurs eligible expenses) in order to prevent food waste and distribute food to individuals experiencing food insecurity. The term participating partnership means an eligible partnership for which the Secretary has approved a reimbursement and distribution plan under paragraph (3)(B). The Secretary shall carry out a Federal surplus food reimbursement program, under which the Secretary shall reimburse participating partnerships to facilitate the donation of surplus eligible food in accordance with this subsection. To be eligible to receive a reimbursement under this subsection, an eligible partnership shall submit to the Secretary a reimbursement and distribution plan that— describes the process that the eligible partnership will use to identify, obtain, harvest, process, transport, temporarily store, and distribute eligible food; includes an estimate of the quantity and types of eligible food that the eligible partnership will purchase and donate; describes the eligible expenses for which the eligible partnership seeks to be reimbursed; and demonstrates experience to comply with the requirements of this subsection. On a rolling basis, the Secretary shall— review reimbursement and distribution plans submitted under subparagraph (A); and determine whether to approve or disapprove each of those reimbursement and distribution plans. On receipt of appropriate documentation under subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall reimburse a participating partnership or a member of a participating partnership that has incurred eligible expenses or donated eligible food on a regular basis for qualified expenses described in paragraph (5). A participating partnership shall submit to the Secretary such documentation as the Secretary may require to demonstrate the qualified expenses described in paragraph (5). The Secretary may verify the accuracy of documentation submitted under clause
(i)by spot checks and audits. In providing reimbursements under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may provide reimbursements for qualified expenses described in paragraph (5)— incurred before the date on which the reimbursement and distribution plan for the applicable participating partnership was approved by the Secretary; and relating to purchases and donations made during the donation period. The Secretary shall provide an advance payment on request of an eligible partnership in an amount equal to the lesser of— 30 percent of the estimated eligible expenses of the eligible partnership during the donation period; and $1,000,000. Subject to subparagraphs
(B)and (C), the amount of a reimbursement under paragraph
(4)shall be an amount equal to the sum obtained by adding— subject to clause (ii), the eligible expenses of the eligible partnership during the donation period; and the food value of eligible food donated by the eligible partnership during the donation period. The amount of eligible expenses described in clause (i)(I) shall not exceed 25 percent of the food value described in clause (i)(II). The amount of a reimbursement under paragraph (4)— shall not exceed the amount of eligible expenses that an eligible partnership incurred during the donation period; and may be limited by the Secretary based on prevailing or typical costs for each type of eligible expense. The combination of all payments or grants provided from all Federal sources to eligible partnership or members of an eligible partnership to reimburse for eligible expenses or food value shall not exceed 100 percent of the eligible expenses or food value. To support the program under this subsection, the Secretary shall establish a clearinghouse to collect information from— eligible food organizations that have eligible food to donate; and local and regional eligible feeding organizations that have capacity to receive or distribute additional eligible food. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funding provided under this section may be used to meet matching funds or cost share requirements for any other Federal program. An eligible feeding organization that receives eligible food donated under this section may not sell the eligible food back into a commercial market. An eligible feeding organization that the Secretary determines has violated paragraph
(1)shall not be eligible for any future participation in the programs established under this section. The Secretary shall publicize opportunities to participate in the programs established under this section. The Secretary may use for administrative expenses not more than 3 percent of the funds made available to carry out this section. The Secretary shall ensure that farmers and ranchers who are minorities, women, young, or veterans, and any eligible feeding organizations that serve those farmers and ranchers or food insecure populations, are informed of opportunities through the programs under this section. The Secretary shall conduct appropriate reviews or audits to ensure the integrity of the programs established under this section. Every 30 days, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report describing, with respect to the State and Tribal surplus food purchase program under subsection (c)— the funding made available to States and Indian Tribes; and a summary of the reviews or audits conducted by the Secretary under subsection (h), including a description of— each review or audit conducted; and the findings of each review or audit conducted. Every 30 days, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report describing, with respect to the Federal surplus food reimbursement program under subsection (d)— payments made under that program— by participating partnership (as defined in subsection (d)(1)); and by State; and a summary of the reviews or audits conducted by the Secretary under subsection (h), including a description of— each review or audit conducted; and the findings of each review or audit conducted. In addition to the funds made available under paragraphs (5)(A) and (6)(A)(ii) of subsection (c), of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
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