Improving coordination to prevent and reduce food loss and waste

(a) Regional coordinators (1) In general The Secretary shall establish in the Department of Agriculture regional coordinators. (2) Responsibilities The regional coordinators established under paragraph (1) shall be responsible for— (A) partnering with food producers, food processors, distributors, and food recovery organizations and acting as regional points of contact to facilitate real-time food recovery; (B) understanding and developing the capacity needed for ongoing food recovery; (C) providing technical support to food recovery organizations to improve the ability of the food recovery organizations to pick up surplus food, process that food, and deliver that food to populations or communities; and (D) engaging with Department of Agriculture regional food business centers to identify opportunities for synergy and alignment with those centers. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $1,000,000. (b) Food recovery and distribution infrastructure support and coordination block grants (1) In general The Secretary, in coordination with the Office of Food Loss and Waste established under section 3, shall establish as part of the program under section 203D(d) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7507(d)) a program to award annual block grants to States and Indian Tribes to carry out projects to develop and support food recovery infrastructure and innovative food distribution models. (2) Distribution A State shall distribute a block grant received under paragraph (1) to applicable food recovery organizations and local governments to address any gaps in food recovery infrastructure, including— (A) storage and capacity of processing infrastructure equipment and facilities; (B) temperature-controlled food distribution infrastructure; (C) technological solutions supporting food recovery, such as real-time updates to connect organizations that have surplus food with organizations that distribute surplus food; and (D) support of salaries, wages, and benefits for food recovery organizations. (3) Coordination In establishing the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall coordinate with other Department of Agriculture agencies and programs, including— (A) the Agricultural Marketing Service; (B) the Emergency Food Assistance Program Reach and Resiliency Grants; and (C) such other agencies and programs as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. (4) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.