NO TIME TO Waste Act
Key claim: A newly introduced House bill would make USDA lead a coordinated federal effort against food loss and waste, including a new Office of Food Loss and Waste, grants for states and tribes, model local policies, and a national public-awareness campaign with a 50% reduction goal by 2030.
Abstract
(HR2883 · 119th Congress) New Opportunities for Technological Innovation, Mitigation, and Education To Overcome Waste Act or the NO TIME TO Waste Act This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce U.S. food loss and waste (FLW) through federal coordination, grants, and education. Under the bill, food loss means the food that does not reach a consumer as a result of an issue in the production, storage, processing, or distribution phase. Food waste means that food intended for human consumption is unconsumed for any reason at the retail or consumption phase. The bill requires USDA to collaborate with the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a December, 17, 2020, agreement to coordinate federal efforts to cut FLW. Further, USDA must establish an Office of Food Loss and Waste to support the existing role of the Food Loss and Waste Liaison. The office must also, among other things, establish a grant program to support collecting data on existing state and local FLW policies (and the office must use the data to establish model policies for state and local governments); a block grant program for states and Indian tribes to develop and support food recovery infrastructure and innovative food distribution models; and a grant program to incentivize state, municipal, local, and tribal governments to establish public-private partnerships that commit to reducing FLW by 50% by 2030. The Office of Food Loss and Waste must also initiate a national FLW education and public awareness campaign. Latest action (2025-04-10): Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 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.
Why this matters
Food loss and waste represents roughly a third of the U.S. food supply, with implications for grocery prices, farm demand, landfill methane, and food security. Centralizing federal coordination at USDA and funding state/tribal action could shift how surplus food is redirected to consumers versus discarded, though as an introduced bill the near-term effect on farmers, retailers, and household costs is limited to signaling.