Congress funds food-waste reduction and hunger relief through voluntary certification
S. 835 — Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act of 2025 · Filed by Richard Durbin (D-IL) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Mar 4, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a voluntary certification program where food businesses, farms, restaurants, schools, and nonprofits can be certified if they donate excess edible food to charities or redirect it to animal feed, composting, or anaerobic digestion instead of throwing it away. The USDA will establish certification criteria, accredit third-party certifiers to verify compliance, and promote certified participants through labeling and marketing, with $3 million annually through 2030 to run the program.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a voluntary certification and promotion program designed to increase food donations to charities and redirect waste to alternative disposal methods. It is a public-health and environmental measure, not a regulatory mandate or industry carve-out.
What the text implies
- The program relies on third-party certifiers accredited by USDA-recognized bodies, creating a new certification market that may favor larger food businesses with resources to document and certify compliance.
- Voluntary labeling may create competitive advantage for certified participants, potentially pressuring non-certified competitors to adopt similar practices or lose market share.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
waste management companies (composting, anaerobic digestion services); third-party certification firms; food donation logistics providers