Rep. Ritchie Torres Introduces Food Rescue Act

Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) today introduced the Food Rescue Act, a bill creating a national food rescue system to recover surplus food and deliver it to communities facing hunger.

The legislation would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture to partner with food rescue organizations to coordinate the recovery, storage, and distribution of excess food from farms, retailers, and distributors. It also establishes a grant program to expand cold storage, transportation, last-mile delivery, and technology that connects surplus food with families in need.

“Hunger is a daily reality for too many families in the Bronx and across the nation,” said Rep. Torres. “Here’s the thing: we already produce enough food to feed every American. The challenge is moving it to the people who need it. The Food Rescue Act would strengthen the national infrastructure needed to do exactly that and seek to radically reduce hunger in our neediest communities.”

The bill also would allow nonprofit food rescue organizations and their partners to apply for federal funding to scale operations and modernize logistics, while coordinating with existing USDA efforts to reduce food loss and support emergency feeding networks.

The bill was inspired by Rep. Torres’s work with Sharing Excess, a nonprofit food rescue and redistribution organization. 

“I had the honor of meeting Sharing Excess and their partners at the Hunts Point Produce Market to discuss their creative vision for transforming food waste into food abundance,” said Rep. Torres. “Sharing Excess has converted tens of millions of pounds of otherwise wasted food into meals that have fed over 10 million people. It is one of the most uplifting success stories of social entrepreneurship I’ve ever seen.”

The full bill text is attached as a PDF here.