Sec. 3. Office of Food Loss and Waste
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The Secretary shall establish in the Department of Agriculture an Office of Food Loss and Waste (referred to in this section as the Office ). The Office shall be responsible for— supporting the role and responsibilities of the Liaison; comprehensive research on methods to quantify on-farm food loss and supply chain food loss; research on new technologies to reduce food loss and food waste; quantifying the impact of food waste reduction policies on greenhouse gas emissions reductions; submitting to Congress and making publicly available reports describing the progress of the United States in advancing toward or achieving the goal of reducing food loss and food waste by 50 percent, compared to 2016 levels, by 2030; publishing reports to Congress and to the public for the purpose of engaging with educational campaigns relating to food loss and food waste; carrying out the grant program under subsection (d); contributing to an assessment relating to how food loss and food waste affects climate change, food and nutrition security, and public health; creating and distributing tools, resources, and publications— to support efforts and measures to reduce and prevent food loss and food waste; and to contribute to increased education relating to food loss and food waste for private entities, nonprofit and community-based organizations, and individuals; tracking and assessing programs across Federal agencies to advance research relating to food loss and food waste; analyzing food loss and food waste policy data and establishing and disseminating model policies for municipal, local, State, territorial, and Tribal governments that are proven to reduce food loss or food waste; recommending new regulations, investments, or policies to the Liaison and the Secretary to address new identified gaps on preventing and reducing food loss and food waste; and carrying out such other activities as the Secretary or the Liaison determine to be appropriate.
In carrying out the responsibilities described in subsection (b), the Secretary, in consultation with other Federal agencies, the Liaison, and the Office, shall establish partnerships with regional partner institutions to plan, conduct, and arrange for public research, data, education, and recommendations relating to food loss and food waste prevention and reduction and food recovery issues locally, regionally, and nationally. The Office shall establish a grant program to support collecting data on existing State and local food loss and food waste policies.
An entity eligible to receive a grant under paragraph
(1)is— a municipal, local, State, or Tribal government; a partnership of 1 or more governments described in subparagraph
(A)and 1 or more nonprofit organizations; or a partnership of 2 or more— governments described in subparagraph (A); or nonprofit organizations. An entity that receives a grant under paragraph
(1)may collaborate with 1 or more nonprofit, private, or other organizations in carrying out activities using the grant funds. A data collection project carried out using a grant under paragraph
(1)shall— be carried out for not longer than 3 years; and include the provision of data collected under the project to the Office. Data collected under a project carried out using a grant under paragraph
(1)shall provide rigorous evidence of the impact of food loss and food waste policies, which may include— estimates of the quantity of the reduction of food loss and food waste after the implementation of a policy; where relevant, estimates of the quantity of food loss and food waste in a similar community that is not subject to the policy; and the economic benefits and impacts realized from food that is recovered, upcycled, reused, or recycled. An entity that receives a grant under paragraph
(1)shall provide funds, in-kind contributions, or a combination of both from sources other than funds provided through the grant in an amount equal to not less than 10 percent of the amount of the grant, which may include private funding or other sources of revenue, as determined by the Secretary. After the Office receives the data collected under the grant program under this paragraph, the Office shall analyze the data and establish model policies for municipal, local, State, and Tribal governments that are proven to reduce food waste. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Office $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the grant program under subsection
(d)$2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. Of the amount appropriated under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may retain not more than 4 percent to pay administrative costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying out subsection (d).