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S. 3108: Food Recovery Act of 2016

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S. 3108: Food Recovery Act of 2016

114th Congress · introduced 2016-06-29 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2016-06-29 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Food Recovery Act of 2016

Plain summary

Food Recovery Act of 2016 This bill provides funding and establishes requirements to reduce food waste and standardize date labeling on food. The bill expands and establishes grant and loan programs to: raise awareness about wasted food and food recovery efforts to reduce the quantity of wasted food, improve cooperation between agricultural producers and emergency feeding organizations, assist schools in using food from farms that would otherwise go to waste and providing farms with compostable materials, and install facilities that include composting or anaerobic digesters that use food or crop waste to produce energy. The bill provides funds for: (1) state storage and distribution costs under the Emergency Food Assistance Program, and (2) media campaigns to decrease food waste. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must establish an Office of Food Recovery to coordinate programs to measure and reduce food waste. The bill specifies that composting is eligible for support under USDA's conservation programs. Companies that receive federal food service contracts must donate surplus food to nonprofit organizations that assist food-insecure people. Food Date Labeling Act of 2016 Producers, manufacturers, distributors, or retailers that place a date label on food packaging of a product must use the phrases "best if used by" to indicate food quality and the phrase "expires on" to warn of food that may be unsafe to eat after a specified date. Labelers may include a quality date on packaging, but must include a safety date on ready-to-eat products. No one may prohibit the sale, donation, or use of a product after the quality date for the product has passed.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Food Recovery Act of 2016

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] reported raising $771,465 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong114-s3108 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114