[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1885 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1885

To encourage the effective use of community resources to combat hunger 
  and the root causes of hunger by creating opportunity through food 
                       recovery and job training.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 18, 2005

 Mr. Lautenberg (for himself, Mrs. Dole, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Smith, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Levin, Mr. Corzine, and Mr. Leahy) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To encourage the effective use of community resources to combat hunger 
  and the root causes of hunger by creating opportunity through food 
                       recovery and job training.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Food Employment Empowerment and 
Development Program Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an 
        entity that meets the requirements of section (3)(b).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (3) Vulnerable subpopulation.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``vulnerable 
                subpopulation'' means low-income individuals, 
                unemployed individuals, and other subpopulations 
                identified by the Secretary as being likely to 
                experience special risks from hunger or a special need 
                for job training.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``vulnerable 
                subpopulation'' includes--
                            (i) addicts (as defined in section 102 of 
                        the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));
                            (ii) at-risk youths (as defined in section 
                        1432 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
                        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6472));
                            (iii) individuals that are basic skills 
                        deficient (as defined in section 101 of the 
                        Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
                        2801));
                            (iv) homeless individuals (as defined in 
                        section 17(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 
                        1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(b));
                            (v) homeless youths (as defined in section 
                        387 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 
                        U.S.C. 5732a));
                            (vi) individuals with disabilities (as 
                        defined in section 3 of the Americans with 
                        Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102));
                            (vii) low-income individuals (as defined in 
                        section 101 of the Workforce Investment Act of 
                        1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801)); and
                            (viii) older individuals (as defined in 
                        section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 
                        (42 U.S.C. 3002)).

SEC. 3. FOOD EMPLOYMENT EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a food employment 
empowerment and development program under which the Secretary shall 
make grants to eligible entities to encourage the effective use of 
community resources to combat hunger and the root causes of hunger by 
creating opportunity through food recovery and job training.
    (b) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, an entity shall be a public agency, or private nonprofit 
institution, that conducts, or will conduct, 2 or more of the following 
activities as an integral part of the normal operation of the entity:
            (1) Recovery of donated food from area restaurants, 
        caterers, hotels, cafeterias, farms, or other food service 
        businesses.
            (2) Distribution of meals or recovered food to--
                    (A) nonprofit organizations described in section 
                501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
                    (B) entities that feed vulnerable subpopulations; 
                and
                    (C) other agencies considered appropriate by the 
                Secretary.
            (3) Training of unemployed and underemployed adults for 
        careers in the food service industry.
            (4) Carrying out of a welfare-to-work job training program 
        in combination with--
                    (A) production of school meals, such as school 
                meals served under the Richard B. Russell National 
                School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) or the Child 
                Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.); or
                    (B) support for after-school programs, such as 
                programs conducted by community learning centers (as 
                defined in section 4201(b) of the Elementary and 
                Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7171(b))).
    (c) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity may use a grant awarded under 
this section for--
            (1) capital investments related to the operation of the 
        eligible entity;
            (2) support services for clients, including staff, of the 
        eligible entity and individuals enrolled in job training 
        programs;
            (3) purchase of equipment and supplies related to the 
        operation of the eligible entity or that improve or directly 
        affect service delivery;
            (4) building and kitchen renovations that improve or 
        directly affect service delivery;
            (5) educational material and services;
            (6) administrative costs, in accordance with guidelines 
        established by the Secretary; and
            (7) additional activities determined appropriate by the 
        Secretary.
    (d) Preferences.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall give preference to eligible entities that perform, or 
will perform, any of the following activities:
            (1) Carrying out food recovery programs that are integrated 
        with--
                    (A) culinary worker training programs, such as 
                programs conducted by a food service management 
                institute under section 21 of the Richard B. Russell 
                National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b-1);
                    (B) school education programs; or
                    (C) programs of service-learning (as defined in 
                section 101 of the National and Community Service Act 
                of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511)).
            (2) Providing job skills training, life skills training, 
        and case management support to vulnerable subpopulations.
            (3) Integrating recovery and distribution of food with a 
        job training program.
            (4) Maximizing the use of an established school, community, 
        or private food service facility or resource in meal 
        preparation and culinary skills training.
            (5) Providing job skills training, life skills training, 
        and case management support to vulnerable subpopulations.
    (e) Eligibility for Job Training.--To be eligible to receive job 
training assistance from an eligible entity using a grant made 
available under this section, an individual shall be a member of a 
vulnerable subpopulation.
    (f) Performance Indicators.--The Secretary shall establish, for 
each year of the program, performance indicators and expected levels of 
performance for meal and food distribution and job training for 
eligible entities to continue to receive and use grants under this 
section.
    (g) Technical Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide technical 
        assistance to eligible entities that receive grants under this 
        section to assist the eligible entities in carrying out 
        programs under this section using the grants.
            (2) Form.--Technical assistance for a program provided 
        under this subsection includes--
                    (A) maintenance of a website, newsletters, email 
                communications, and other tools to promote shared 
                communications, expertise, and best practices;
                    (B) hosting of an annual meeting or other forums to 
                provide education and outreach to all programs 
                participants;
                    (C) collection of data for each program to ensure 
                that the performance indicators and purposes of the 
                program are met or exceeded;
                    (D) intervention (if necessary) to assist an 
                eligible entity to carry out the program in a manner 
                that meets or exceeds the performance indicators and 
                purposes of the program;
                    (E) consultation and assistance to an eligible 
                entity to assist the eligible entity in providing the 
                best services practicable to the community served by 
                the eligible entity, including consultation and 
                assistance related to--
                            (i) strategic plans;
                            (ii) board development;
                            (iii) fund development;
                            (iv) mission development; and
                            (v) other activities considered appropriate 
                        by the Secretary;
                    (F) assistance considered appropriate by the 
                Secretary regarding--
                            (i) the status of program participants;
                            (ii) the demographic characteristics of 
                        program participants that affect program 
                        services;
                            (iii) any new idea that could be integrated 
                        into the program; and
                            (iv) the review of grant proposals; and
                    (G) any other forms of technical assistance the 
                Secretary considers appropriate.
    (h) Relationship to Other Law.--
            (1) Bill emerson good samaritan food donation act.--An 
        action taken by an eligible entity using a grant provided under 
        this section shall be covered by the Bill Emerson Good 
        Samaritan Food Donation Act (42 U.S.C. 1791).
            (2) Food handling guidelines.--In using a grant provided 
        under this section, an eligible entity shall comply with any 
        applicable food handling guideline established by a State or 
        local authority.
            (3) Inspections.--An eligible entity using a grant provided 
        under this section shall be exempt from inspection under 
        sections 303.1(d)(2)(iii) and 381.10(d)(2)(iii) of volume 9, 
        Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), if the 
        eligible entity--
                    (A) has a hazard analysis and critical control 
                point (HACCP) plan;
                    (B) has a sanitation standard operating procedure 
                (SSOP); and
                    (C) otherwise complies with the Federal Meat 
                Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and the Poultry 
                Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.).
    (i) Maximum Amount of Grant.--The amount of a grant provided to an 
eligible entity for a fiscal year under this section shall not exceed 
$200,000.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
        2006 through 2011.
            (2) Technical assistance.--Of the amount of funds that are 
        made available for a fiscal year under paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall use to provide technical assistance under 
        subsection (g) not more than the greater of--
                    (A) 5 percent of the amount of funds that are made 
                available for the fiscal year under paragraph (1); or
                    (B) $1,000,000.
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