Farm to Food Bank Enhancement Act of 2020
Farm to Food Bank Enhancement Act of 2020
This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide enhanced funding to states to pay for projects to harvest, process, package, or transport donated commodities.
USDA must issue guidance to states to encourage them to carry out projects that work with agricultural producers, processors, and distributors who grow or market products that have seen decreased demand due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak and cannot easily be repackaged for grocery or retail sale.
To be eligible for funding, a state must submit a plan of operation for a project that includes (1) a list of emergency feeding organizations in the state that are willing to partner with the state; (2) a list of priority agricultural products located in the state that are for donation to emergency feeding organizations and ready for transport; (3) a description of how the project will serve certain purposes, including to provide food to individuals in need; and (4) a timeline for the project.
USDA may reallocate unexpended funds to other eligible states if it determines that a state will not use all of its allocated funds.
The bill allows states to enter into cooperative agreements with other states to maximize the use of donated commodities.
USDA must make specified documents publicly available on its website, including any guidance issued to states in accordance with the bill.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, 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.