H.R. 4184 114th Congress House

Food Recovery Act of 2015

Official title: To decrease the incidence of food waste, and for other purposes.

Introduced: December 7, 2015 Introduced by: Chellie Pingree Democratic · Maine See on congress.gov

Agriculture and Food Agricultural conservation and pollutionAgricultural educationAgricultural equipment and machineryAgricultural practices and innovations

More subjectsShow fewer subjects

Agricultural prices, subsidies, creditAlternative and renewable resourcesCharitable contributionsChild healthDepartment of AgricultureElementary and secondary educationExecutive agency funding and structureFood assistance and reliefFood industry and servicesFood supply, safety, and labelingFruit and vegetablesGovernment information and archivesGovernment lending and loan guaranteesGovernment studies and investigationsIncome tax deductionsNutrition and dietPublic contracts and procurementRetail and wholesale tradesRural conditions and developmentSocial work, volunteer service, charitable organizationsSolid waste and recycling

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Everywhere this bill has been 5 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Mar 23, 2016

Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.

Dec 11, 2015

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Dec 9, 2015

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H9089)

Dec 7, 2015

Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Energy and Commerce, 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 concerned.

Dec 7, 2015

Introduced in House

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Latest action March 23, 2016

Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Food Recovery Act of 2015

This bill amends the following to provide funding, expand tax deductions, and establish requirements to reduce food waste: the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; the Internal Revenue Code; the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act; and several agricultural laws.

The bill expands and establishes federal grant and loan programs to:

improve the nutritional health of children and raise awareness about food waste,
improve cooperation between agricultural producers and emergency feeding organizations,
assist schools in using food from farms that would otherwise go to waste and providing farms with compostable materials, and
install facilities that include composting or anaerobic digesters that use food or crop waste to produce energy.

Recipients of grants to install anaerobic digesters that use waste to produce energy must meet specified requirements regarding environmental laws and the distribution of certain food to hunger-serving organizations.

USDA must: (1) establish an Office of Food Recovery to coordinate federal programs to measure and reduce food waste, and (2) study techniques for decreasing food waste and estimating the amount of food wasted by farms.

The bill provides that composting is a conservation practice eligible for support under USDA's conservation programs.

The bill extends and expands tax deductions for the donation of food to charitable organizations.

"Sell-by" dates included on food labeling must indicate that the dates are only the manufacturer's suggestion and use uniform language.

Companies that receive food service contracts with the federal government must donate surplus food to nonprofit organizations that assist food-insecure people.

Related & companion bills 1

Bill text 1 version

Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 8

Agriculture Committee
House of Representatives
Committee on House Administration
House of Representatives
Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee
House of Representatives · subcommittee of Education and Workforce Committee
Education and Workforce Committee
House of Representatives
Energy and Commerce Committee
House of Representatives
Health Subcommittee
House of Representatives · subcommittee of Energy and Commerce Committee
Oversight and Government Reform Committee
House of Representatives
Ways and Means Committee
House of Representatives

Cosponsors 47

GUTIERREZ, LUIS

· Nov 15, 2016

Titus, Dina

Nevada · Nov 15, 2016

Loebsack, David

· Sep 28, 2016

Nadler, Jerrold

New York · Sep 28, 2016

Veasey, Marc A.

Texas · Sep 28, 2016

Clarke, Yvette D.

New York · Sep 22, 2016

Massachusetts · Sep 22, 2016

Norcross, Donald

New Jersey · Sep 22, 2016

SERRANO, JOSE

· Sep 22, 2016

Swalwell, Eric

California · Sep 22, 2016

Tonko, Paul

New York · Sep 22, 2016

Watson Coleman, Bonnie

New Jersey · Sep 22, 2016

DeSaulnier, Mark

California · Sep 20, 2016

North Carolina · Sep 8, 2016

Thompson, Mike

California · Jul 12, 2016

Smith, Adam

Washington · Jul 6, 2016

Kirkpatrick, Ann

· Jun 10, 2016

DeLauro, Rosa L.

Connecticut · Jun 7, 2016

Kuster, Ann

· Jun 7, 2016

Matsui, Doris O.

California · Jun 7, 2016

Larsen, Rick

Washington · May 23, 2016

Lujan Grisham, Michelle

Indiana · Apr 28, 2016

Moore, Gwen

Wisconsin · Apr 26, 2016

Norton, Eleanor Holmes

District of Columbia · Apr 18, 2016

FATTAH, CHAKA

· Apr 14, 2016

Huffman, Jared

California · Apr 14, 2016

Minnesota · Feb 23, 2016

Tennessee · Dec 18, 2015

Arizona · Dec 15, 2015

McGovern, James P.

Massachusetts · Dec 15, 2015

Pocan, Mark

Wisconsin · Dec 15, 2015

RYAN, TIM

· Dec 15, 2015

Cite this page click to expand

APA

U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 4184: Food Recovery Act of 2015. 114th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-4184/

MLA

"H.R. 4184: Food Recovery Act of 2015." 114th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-4184/.

Bluebook (legal)

H.R. 4184, 114th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-4184/.

Markdown link

[H.R. 4184: Food Recovery Act of 2015](https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-4184/)