7 U.S.C. § 7507 — State and local supplementation of commodities

(a) Authorization. The Secretary must set up ways for states, local agencies, charities, or others to add nutritious, wholesome donated commodities on top of what the government already provides — for use by emergency feeding organizations, in all or part of a state. (b) Use of funds and facilities. States and emergency feeding organizations may use this chapter's funds, equipment, vehicles, and other facilities — and paid or volunteer staff — to store, handle, or distribute these extra donated commodities. (c) Volunteer workers. States and emergency feeding organizations must keep using volunteer workers and donated food as much as possible. (d) Projects to harvest, process, package, or transport donated commodities. (1) A "project" means harvesting, processing, packaging, or transporting raw or unpackaged commodities donated by farmers, processors, or distributors for emergency feeding organizations. (2)(A) The Secretary may fund states to pay for these projects. (B) The federal government pays no more than 50 percent of a project's cost. (C)(i) Each year, the Secretary allocates project funds, by formula, to states that submitted a plan under section 7503(b)(5). (ii) If a state won't spend all its allocated funds, the Secretary gives the leftover money to other states with such a plan. (iii) States getting these funds must regularly report to the Secretary on how they used them. (3) States may only use this federal money to: (A) cut food waste at the farm, processing, or distribution stage through donations; (B) get food to people who need it; and (C) build relationships between farmers, processors, and distributors and emergency feeding organizations. (4) The Secretary may encourage states running these projects to make cooperative agreements with other states under section 7505(d), to make the best use of donated commodities. (5) The Treasury must transfer $4,000,000 to the Secretary for this subsection each fiscal year from 2019 through 2031, available through the following fiscal year too. (e) Food waste. The Secretary must issue guidance on best practices to cut waste of commodities donated under subsection (a). (f) Food donation standards. (1) Definitions: (A) "Apparently wholesome food" means what section 1791(b) of title 42 says it means. (B) "Institution of higher education" means what section 1002 of title 20 says it means. (C) A "qualified direct donor" is a retail store, wholesaler, farmer, restaurant, caterer, school food authority, or college. (2)(A) Within 180 days after December 20, 2018, the Secretary must issue guidance to promote donations of apparently wholesome food — protected under section 1791(c) of title 42 — by qualified direct donors who follow state and local health and food safety laws. (B) The Secretary must encourage states and emergency feeding organizations to share this guidance with qualified direct donors.