[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 132 (Tuesday, October 18, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11480-S11482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mrs. Dole, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. 
        Smith, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Levin, Mr. Corzine, and 
        Mr. Leahy):
  S. 1885. 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; to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Food 
Employment Empowerment and Development Act or FEED Act along with my 
colleagues Senators Dole and Lincoln. This important, bipartisan 
legislation will award grants to qualified programs that effectively 
combat hunger while creating opportunity through food rescue programs 
and job training.
  This legislation is inspired by some of the great work that food 
rescue programs in my State of New Jersey, such as Table to Table in 
Englewood Cliffs, Elijah's Promise in New Brunswick; the Food Bank of 
Monmouth and Ocean Counties, in Spring Lake; and the Community Food 
Bank of New Jersey in Hillside are doing.
  It is a tragedy that in the United States, a country where food is 
plentiful, more than 34 million people are either going hungry or 
living on the edge of hunger. Thirteen million of those are children.
  While on average New Jersey is one of the wealthiest States in the 
Nation, nearly 12 percent of all New Jersey households experience 
either hunger, food insecurity or both. Low wages, unstable employment 
and the high cost of living in the State leave many people in need. 
Senior adults in particular, faced with high housing costs, rising 
taxes and significant medical expenses miss meals to help make ends 
meet.
  That is why we believe the FEED Act is so important. The FEED Act 
would provide eligible entities with a maximum grant of $200,000 per 
year to carry out food rescue and job training activities.
  Food rescue programs collect food from restaurants and businesses and 
turn it into nutritional meals for seniors, children, and low-income 
families. In turn, these meals can be distributed and served to hungry 
people at homeless shelters, community and youth centers, children's 
after-school programs, and senior citizen programs.
  Such programs have proven to be very successful, encouraging 
partnerships between existing social service programs like welfare-to-
work, meals-on-wheels, the school lunch program, and after school 
programs with the preparation of nutritious meals for people in need. 
Food rescue programs often maximize use of existing school, community, 
or private food service facilities and resources to run programs.
  But just addressing the immediate problem of hunger by providing food 
is half the battle. Hunger and poverty are closely related. With hunger 
on the rise in America, we need to go further and address the root 
causes of hunger by encouraging self sufficiency and responsibility. We 
need to focus on opportunities that will provide for a living wage 
through job training and education.
  Programs supported by FEED are designed to provide long-term hunger 
relief by helping participants find employment in the food service 
industry. In the food service industry, the average wage for starting 
jobs is $8.81--over three dollars higher than the Federal minimum wage.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. Together 
we can make progress by finding innovative, cost-effective ways to use 
food to feed the hungry while working to break the cycle of poverty by 
training the homeless and unemployed in food service preparation and 
delivery.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1885

       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.

[[Page S11481]]

       (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.

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Food 
Employment Empowerment and Development (FEED) Act. I am proud to join 
my good friends and colleagues, Senators Lautenberg and Dole in 
introducing this legislation that aims to help feed hungry Americans 
and provide job training to low-income Americans in search of self-
sufficiency.
  The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that Americans 
throw away 96 billion pounds of food each year. This number includes 
the food we throw away after meals, food that loses its shelf life and 
food that never makes it to store shelves. Meanwhile, 36 million 
Americans, including 13 million children, don't know where their next 
meal is coming from. Many of these children will go to bed tonight on 
an empty stomach. This is a paradox in a land of plenty.
  Several blocks from this magnificent and historic Capitol building, 
there is a kitchen located in the basement of a building that houses 
social services. In that kitchen, every day, over 4,000 meals are 
prepared by low-income, recovering drug addicts or unemployed persons 
who are training to be chefs. The dozen men and women are in a 12-week 
culinary arts training program and once completed, they will earn their 
culinary arts certification which will empower them to find a job in 
the culinary industry. The over 4,000 meals produced at the DC Central 
Kitchen each day come from a combination of donated, rescued or 
purchased food and are delivered to hundreds of agencies in the 
Washington metro area that in turn feed hungry adults and children.
  America's Second Harvest has a national network of foodbanks which 
conduct similar programs called ``Community Kitchens'' that achieve the 
same goals.
  These types of programs are smart and responsible uses of resources 
and Senators Lautenberg and Dole and I recognize a great model when we 
see one. We believe that by infusing some Federal support with private 
business, foundations, and faith-based and local non-profit resources, 
we can grow similar programs all across the Nation.
  Again, we are taking rescued food, food that would otherwise be 
wasted, turning it into meals that are being prepared by people who are 
training to get a job to help support themselves and their family, and 
using the meals to feed hungry American adults and children.
  I believe that all of us that are committed to helping end hunger in 
America agree with the old adage: ``Give a man a fish and he eats for a 
day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.'' And it is this 
simple concept that is the impetus for the FEED Act.
  I am hopeful that this legislation will help local anti-hunger 
organizations in Arkansas and across the Nation who want to use this 
multi-pronged approach to feed the hungry, empower the unemployed and 
maximize food resources.
  I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bi-partisan bill 
today

[[Page S11482]]

and I appreciate those Senators who have joined us in sponsoring this 
commonsense legislation. I look forward to working with all of my 
colleagues to ensure its speedy consideration and passage.

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