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EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983
[As Amended Through P.L. 115–334, Enacted December 20, 2018]
øCurrency: This publication is a compilation of the text of Public Law 98–92. It was
last amended by the public law listed in the As Amended Through note above and
below at the bottom of each page of the pdf version and reflects current law
through the date of the enactment of the public law listed at https://
www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/comps/¿
øNote: While this publication does not represent an official version of any Federal
statute, substantial efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents.
The official version of Federal law is found in the United States Statutes at Large
and in the United States Code. The legal effect to be given to the Statutes at
Large and the United States Code is established by statute (1 U.S.C. 112, 204).¿
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
Sec. 201. ø7501 note¿ Short title.
Sec. 201A. ø7501¿ Definitions.
Sec. 202. ø7502¿ Availability of CCC commodities.
Sec. 202A. ø7503¿ State plan.
Sec. 203A. ø7504¿ Initial processing costs.
Sec. 203B. ø7505¿ Federal and State responsibilities.
Sec. 203C. ø7506¿ Assurances; anticipated use.
Sec. 203D. ø7507¿ State and local supplementation of commodities.
Sec. 204. ø7508¿ Authorization and appropriations.
Sec. 205. ø7509¿ Relationship to other programs.
Sec. 206. ø7510¿ Commodities not income.
Sec. 208. ø7511¿ Prohibition against certain State charges.
Sec. 209. ø7511a¿ Emergency food program infrastructure grants.
Sec. 210. ø7512¿ Regulations.
Sec. 211. ø7513¿ Finality of determinations.
Sec. 213. ø7514¿ Incorporation of additional commodities.
Sec. 214. ø7515¿ Required purchases of commodities.
Sec. 215. ø7516¿ Settlement and adjustment of claims.
AN ACT Making appropriations to provide productive employment for hundreds of
thousands of jobless Americans, to hasten or initiate Federal projects and construction of lasting value to the Nation and its citizens, and to provide humanitarian assistance to the indigent for fiscal year 1983, and for other purposes.

TITLE II—EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983 2
SEC. 201. ø7 U.S.C. 7501 note¿ This title may be cited as the
‘‘Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983’’, and is hereinafter in this
title referred to as ‘‘this Act’’.
SEC. 201A. ø7 U.S.C. 7501¿ DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) ADDITIONAL COMMODITIES.—The term ‘‘additional commodities’’ means commodities made available under section
1 This

table of contents is not part of the Act but is included for user convenience. The
numbers in brackets refer to section numbers in title 7, United States Code.
2 P.L. 98–8, 97 Stat. 13, March 24, 1983.

1
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Sec. 201A

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

2

214 in addition to the commodities made available under sections 202 and 203D.
(2) AVERAGE MONTHLY NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS.—The term ‘‘average monthly number of unemployed persons’’ means the average monthly number of unemployed persons in each State during the most recent fiscal year for which
information concerning the number of unemployed persons is
available, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the Department of Labor.
(3) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eligible recipient agency’’ means a public or nonprofit organization that—
(A) administers—
(i) an emergency feeding organization;
(ii) a charitable institution (including a hospital
and a retirement home, but excluding a penal institution) to the extent that the institution serves needy
persons;
(iii) a summer camp for children, or a child nutrition program providing food service;
(iv) a nutrition project operating under the Older
Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), including a project that operates a congregate nutrition site
and a project that provides home-delivered meals; or
(v) a disaster relief program;
(B) has been designated by the appropriate State
agency, or by the Secretary; and
(C) has been approved by the Secretary for participation in the program established under this Act.
(4) EMERGENCY FEEDING ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘emergency feeding organization’’ means a public or nonprofit organization that administers activities and projects (including the
activities and projects of a charitable institution, a food bank,
a food pantry, a hunger relief center, a soup kitchen, or a similar public or private nonprofit eligible recipient agency) providing nutrition assistance to relieve situations of emergency
and distress through the provision of food to needy persons, including low-income and unemployed persons.
(5) FOOD BANK.—The term ‘‘food bank’’ means a public or
charitable institution that maintains an established operation
involving the provision of food or edible commodities, or the
products of food or edible commodities, to food pantries, soup
kitchens, hunger relief centers, or other food or feeding centers
that, as an integral part of their normal activities, provide
meals or food to feed needy persons on a regular basis.
(6) FOOD PANTRY.—The term ‘‘food pantry’’ means a public
or private nonprofit organization that distributes food to lowincome and unemployed households, including food from
sources other than the Department of Agriculture, to relieve
situations of emergency and distress.
(7) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ has the meaning provided in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block
Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)).
(8) SOUP KITCHEN.—The term ‘‘soup kitchen’’ means a public or charitable institution that, as an integral part of the norDecember 20, 2018

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EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

Sec. 202

mal activities of the institution, maintains an established feeding operation to provide food to needy homeless persons on a
regular basis.
(9) TOTAL VALUE OF ADDITIONAL COMMODITIES.—The term
‘‘total value of additional commodities’’ means the actual cost
of all additional commodities that are paid by the Secretary
(including the distribution and processing costs incurred by the
Secretary).
(10) VALUE OF ADDITIONAL COMMODITIES ALLOCATED TO
EACH STATE.—The term ‘‘value of additional commodities allocated to each State’’ means the actual cost of additional commodities allocated to each State that are paid by the Secretary
(including the distribution and processing costs incurred by the
Secretary).
AVAILABILITY OF CCC COMMODITIES

SEC. 202. ø7 U.S.C. 7502¿ (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to complement the domestic nutrition programs, make maximum use of the Nation’s agricultural abundance,
and expand and improve the domestic distribution of price-supported commodities, commodities acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation that the Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) determines, in his discretion, are in
excess of quantities needed to—
(1) carry out other domestic donation programs,
(2) meet other domestic obligations (including quantities
needed to carry out a payment-in-kind acreage diversion program),
(3) meet international market development and food aid
commitments, and
(4) carry out the farm price and income stabilization purposes of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, the Agricultural Act of 1949, and the Commodity Credit Corporation
Charter Act,
shall be made available by the Secretary, without charge or credit
for such commodities, for use by eligible recipient agencies for food
assistance.
ø(b) 3 * * * ¿
(c) In addition to any commodities described in subsection (a),
in carrying out this Act, the Secretary may use agricultural commodities and the products thereof made available under clause (2)
of the second sentence of section 32 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to
amend the Agricultural Adjustment Act, and for other purposes’’,
approved August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c).
(d) Commodities made available under this Act shall include a
variety of commodities and products thereof that are most useful
to eligible recipient agencies, including but not limited to, dairy
products, wheat or the products thereof, rice, honey and cornmeal.
(e) Effective April 1, 1986, the Secretary shall submit semiannually to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For3 Sec. 1565 of the Food Security Act of 1985, P.L. 99–198, 99 Stat. 1591, Dec. 23, 1985, amended this sec. by striking out ‘‘a’’ and by striking out subsec. (b).

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Sec. 202A

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

4

estry of the Senate a report on the types and amounts of commodities made available for distribution under this Act.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the programs
authorized by sections 153 and 1163 of the Food Security Act of
1985 (15 U.S.C. 713a–14 and 7 U.S.C. 1731 note) shall not be operated in a manner that will, in any way, reduce the quantities of
dairy products that traditionally are made available to carry out
this Act or any other domestic feeding program.
(g)(1) Whenever commodities acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation are made available for donation to domestic food
programs in quantities that exceed Federal obligations, the Secretary shall give equal consideration to making donations of such
commodities to emergency feeding organizations participating in
the program authorized by this Act as is given to other commodity
recipient agencies, taking into account the types and amounts of
commodities available and appropriate for distribution to these organizations.
(2) In determining the commodities that will be made available
to emergency feeding organizations under this Act, the Secretary
may distribute commodities that become available on a seasonal or
irregular basis.
(h) KOSHER AND HALAL FOOD.—As soon as practicable after the
date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall finalize
and implement a plan—
(1) to increase the purchase of Kosher and Halal food from
food manufacturers with a Kosher or Halal certification to
carry out the program established under this Act if the Kosher
and Halal food purchased is cost neutral as compared to food
that is not from food manufacturers with a Kosher or Halal
certification; and
(2) to modify the labeling of the commodities list used to
carry out the program in a manner that enables Kosher and
Halal distribution entities to identify which commodities to obtain from local food banks.
SEC. 202A. ø7 U.S.C. 7503¿ STATE PLAN.
(a) PLANS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive commodities under this Act, a

State shall submit to the Secretary an operation and administration plan for the provision of benefits under this Act.
(2) UPDATES.—A State shall submit to the Secretary for
approval any amendment to a plan submitted under paragraph
(1) in any case in which the State proposes to make a change
to the operation or administration of a program described in
the plan.
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Each plan shall—
(1) designate the State agency responsible for distributing
the commodities received under this Act;
(2) set forth a plan of operation and administration to expeditiously distribute commodities under this Act;
(3) set forth the standards of eligibility for recipient agencies;
(4) set forth the standards of eligibility for individual or
household recipients of commodities, which shall require—
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EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

Sec. 203B

(A) individuals or households to be comprised of needy
persons; and
(B) individual or household members to be residing in
the geographic location served by the distributing agency
at the time of applying for assistance;
(5) at the option of the State agency, describe a plan of operation for 1 or more projects in partnership with 1 or more
emergency feeding organizations located in the State to harvest, process, package, or transport donated commodities received under section 203D(d); and
(6) describe a plan, which may include the use of a State
advisory board established under subsection (c), that provides
emergency feeding organizations or eligible recipient agencies
within the State an opportunity to provide input on the commodity preferences and needs of the emergency feeding organization or eligible recipient agency.
(c) STATE ADVISORY BOARD.—The Secretary shall encourage
each State receiving commodities under this Act to establish a
State advisory board consisting of representatives of all entities in
the State, both public and private, interested in the distribution of
commodities received under this Act.
ø PROCESSING AGREEMENTS ¿
øSEC. 203. 4 ¿
INITIAL PROCESSING COSTS

SEC. 203A. ø7 U.S.C. 7504¿ The Secretary may use funds of
the Commodity Credit Corporation to pay costs of initial processing
and packaging of commodities to be distributed under the program
established under this Act into forms, and in quantities, suitable,
as determined by the Secretary, for use in individual households
when such commodities are to be consumed by individual households or for institutional use, as applicable. The Secretary may pay
such costs in the form of Corporation-owned commodities equal in
value to such costs. The Secretary shall ensure that any such payments in kind will not displace commercial sales of such commodities.
FEDERAL AND STATE RESPONSIBILITIES

SEC. 203B. ø7 U.S.C. 7505¿ (a) The Secretary shall, as expeditiously as possible, provide the commodities made available under
this Act in such quantities as can be used without waste to State
agencies designated by the Governor or other appropriate State official for distribution to eligible recipient agencies, except that the
Secretary may provide such commodities directly to eligible recipient agencies and to private companies that process such commodities for eligible recipient agencies under section 203A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in the distribution of commodities under this Act, each State agency shall have the option
to give priority to existing food bank networks and other organizations whose ongoing primary function is to facilitate the distribu4 Sec. 203 was repealed by sec. 1567(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985, P.L. 99–198, 99 Stat.
1592, Dec. 23, 1985.

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Sec. 203C

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

6

tion of food to low-income households, including food from sources
other than the Department of Agriculture.
(b) State agencies receiving commodities under this Act shall,
as expeditiously as possible, distribute such commodities, in the
quantities requested (to the extent practicable), to eligible recipient
agencies within their respective States. However, if a State agency
cannot meet all requests for a particular commodity under this Act,
the State agency shall give priority in the distribution of such commodity to eligible recipient agencies providing nutrition assistance
to relieve situations of emergency and distress through the provision of food to needy persons, including low-income and unemployed persons. Each State agency shall encourage distribution of
such commodities in rural areas.
(c) Each State agency receiving commodities for individual
household use under this Act shall distribute such commodities to
eligible recipient agencies in the State that serve needy persons,
and shall, with the approval of the Secretary, determine those persons in the State that shall qualify as needy persons eligible for
such commodities.
(d) Each State agency receiving commodities under this title
may—
(1) enter into cooperative agreements with State agencies
of other States for joint provision of such commodities to an
emergency feeding organization that serves needy persons in a
single geographical area part of which is situated in each of
such States; or
(2) transfer such commodities to any such emergency feeding organization in the other State under such agreement.
ASSURANCES; ANTICIPATED USE

SEC. 203C. ø7 U.S.C. 7506¿ (a) The Secretary shall take precautions as the Secretary deems necessary to assure that any eligible recipient agency receiving commodities under this Act will provide such commodities to persons served by the eligible recipient
agency and will not diminish its normal expenditures for food by
reason of the receipt of such commodities. The Secretary shall also
take such precautions as the Secretary deems necessary to assure
that commodities made available under this Act will not displace
commercial sales of such commodities or the products thereof. The
Secretary shall not make commodities available for donation in any
quantity or manner that the Secretary, in the Secretary’s discretion, determines may, substitute for the same or any other agricultural produce that would otherwise be purchased in the market.
(b) Commodities provided under this Act shall be distributed
only in quantities that can be consumed without waste. No eligible
recipient agency may receive commodities under this Act in excess
of anticipated use, based on inventory records and controls, or in
excess of its ability to accept and store such commodities.
SEC. 203D. ø7 U.S.C. 7507¿ STATE AND LOCAL SUPPLEMENTATION OF
COMMODITIES.
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall establish procedures

under which State and local agencies, charitable institutions, or
any other person may supplement the commodities distributed
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EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

Sec. 203D

under the program authorized by this Act for use by emergency
feeding organizations with nutritious and wholesome commodities
that such entities or persons donate to State agencies and emergency feeding organizations for distribution, in all or part of the
State, in addition to the commodities otherwise made available
under this Act.
(b) USE OF FUNDS AND FACILITIES.—States and emergency
feeding organizations may use the funds appropriated under this
Act and equipment, structures, vehicles, and all other facilities involved in the storage, handling, or distribution of commodities
made available under this Act, and the personnel, both paid or volunteer, involved in such storage, handling, or distribution, to store,
handle or distribute commodities donated for the use of emergency
feeding organizations under subsection (a).
(c) VOLUNTEER WORKERS.—State and emergency feeding organizations shall continue, to the maximum extent practical, to use
volunteer workers and commodities and other foodstuffs donated by
charitable and other organizations in the operation of the program
authorized by this section.
(d) PROJECTS TO HARVEST, PROCESS, PACKAGE, OR TRANSPORT
DONATED COMMODITIES.—
(1) DEFINITION OF PROJECT.—In this subsection, the term
‘‘project’’ means the harvesting, processing, packaging, or
transportation of unharvested, unprocessed, or unpackaged
commodities donated by agricultural producers, processors, or
distributors for use by emergency feeding organizations under
subsection (a).
(2) FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PROJECTS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraphs (B) and
(C) and paragraph (3), using funds made available under
paragraph (5), the Secretary may provide funding to States
to pay for the costs of carrying out a project.
(B) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost of
a project under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the project.
(C) ALLOCATION.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, the Secretary
shall allocate the funds made available under subparagraph (A), based on a formula determined by the Secretary, to States that have submitted a State plan describing a plan of operation for a project under section
202A(b)(5).
(ii) REALLOCATION.—If the Secretary determines
that a State will not expend all of the funds allocated
to the State for a fiscal year under clause (i), the Secretary shall reallocate the unexpended funds to other
States that have submitted under section 202A(b)(5) a
State plan describing a plan of operation for a project
during that fiscal year or the subsequent fiscal year,
as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(iii) REPORTS.—Each State to which funds are allocated for a fiscal year under this subparagraph shall,
on a regular basis, submit to the Secretary financial
reports describing the use of the funds.
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Sec. 203D

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

8

(3) PROJECT PURPOSES.—A State may only use Federal
funds received under paragraph (2) for a project the purposes
of which are—
(A) to reduce food waste at the agricultural production,
processing, or distribution level through the donation of
food;
(B) to provide food to individuals in need; and
(C) to build relationships between agricultural producers, processors, and distributors and emergency feeding
organizations through the donation of food.
(4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may encourage a State agency that carries out a project using Federal
funds received under paragraph (2) to enter into cooperative
agreements with State agencies of other States under section
203B(d) to maximize the use of commodities donated under the
project.
(5) FUNDING.—Out of funds not otherwise appropriated,
the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary to
carry out this subsection $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2019 through 2023, to remain available until the end of the
subsequent fiscal year.
(e) FOOD WASTE.—The Secretary shall issue guidance outlining
best practices to minimize the food waste of the commodities donated under subsection (a).
(f) FOOD DONATION STANDARDS.—
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
(A) APPARENTLY WHOLESOME FOOD.—The term ‘‘apparently wholesome food’’ has the meaning given the term in
section 22(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.
1791(b)).
(B) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the meaning given the
term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1002).
(C) QUALIFIED DIRECT DONOR.—The term ‘‘qualified direct donor’’ means a retail food store, wholesaler, agricultural producer, restaurant, caterer, school food authority,
or institution of higher education.
(2) GUIDANCE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of the Agriculture Improvement Act of
2018, the Secretary shall issue guidance to promote awareness of donations of apparently wholesome food protected
under section 22(c) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1791(c)) by qualified direct donors in compliance
with applicable State and local health, food safety, and
food handling laws (including regulations).
(B) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary shall encourage State
agencies and emergency feeding organizations to share the
guidance issued under subparagraph (A) with qualified direct donors.
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EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

Sec. 204

AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 204. ø7 U.S.C. 7508¿ (a)(1) There are authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each fiscal year
thereafter, for the Secretary to make available to the States to pay
for the direct and indirect costs of the States related to the processing, storage, transporting, and distributing to eligible recipient
agencies of commodities provided by the Secretary under this Act
and commodities secured from other sources, including commodities
secured by gleaning (as defined in section 111(a) of the Hunger
Prevention Act of 1988 (7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 100–435))
and donated wild game. Funds appropriated under this paragraph
for any fiscal year shall be allocated to the States on an advance
basis, dividing such funds among the States in the same proportions as the commodities distributed under this Act for such fiscal
year are divided among the States. If a State agency is unable to
use all of the funds so allocated to it, the Secretary shall reallocate
such unused funds among the other States.
(2) Each State shall make available to emergency feeding organizations in the State not less than 40 per centum of the funds provided as authorized in paragraph (1) that it has been allocated for
a fiscal year, as necessary to pay for, or provide advance payments
to cover, the direct expenses of the emergency feeding organizations for distributing commodities to needy persons, but only to the
extent such expenses are actually so incurred by such organizations. As used in this paragraph, the term ‘‘direct expenses’’ includes costs of transporting, storing, handling, repackaging, processing, and distributing commodities incurred after they are received by the organization; costs associated with determinations of
eligibility, verification, and documentation; costs of providing information to persons receiving commodities under this Act concerning
the appropriate storage and preparation of such commodities; and
costs of recordkeeping, auditing, and other administrative procedures required for participation in the program under this Act. If
a State makes a payment, using State funds, to cover direct expenses of emergency feeding organizations, the amount of such
payment shall be counted toward the amount a State must make
available for direct expenses of emergency feeding organizations
under this paragraph.
(3) States to which funds are allocated for a fiscal year under
this subsection shall submit financial reports to the Secretary, on
a regular basis, as to the use of such funds. No such funds may
be used by States or emergency feeding organizations for costs
other than those involved in covering the expenses related to the
distribution of commodities by emergency feeding organizations.
(4)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), effective January 1, 1987, to be eligible to receive funds under this subsection,
a State shall provide in cash or in kind (according to procedures
approved by the Secretary for certifying these in-kind contributions) from non-Federal sources a contribution equal to the difference between—
(i) the amount of such funds so received; and
(ii) any part of the amount allocated to the State and paid
by the State—
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Sec. 205

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

10

(I) to emergency feeding organizations; or
(II) for the direct expenses of such organizations;
for use in carrying out this Act.
(B)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), subparagraph (A) shall
apply to States beginning on January 1, 1987.
(ii) If the legislature of a State does not convene in regular session before January 1, 1987, paragraph (1) shall apply to such
State beginning on October 1, 1987.
(C) Funds allocated to a State under this section may, upon
State request, be allocated before States satisfy the matching requirement specified in subparagraph (A), based on the estimated
contribution required. The Secretary shall periodically reconcile estimated and actual contributions and adjust allocations to the State
to correct for overpayments and underpayments.
(5) States may not charge for commodities made available to
emergency feeding organizations, and may not pass on to such organizations the cost of any matching requirements, under this Act.
(b) The value of the commodities made available under this Act
and the funds of the Corporation used to pay the costs of initial
processing, packaging (including forms suitable for home use), and
delivering commodities to the States shall not be charged against
appropriations made or authorized under this section.
RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS

SEC. 205. ø7 U.S.C. 7509¿ (a) Section 4(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 shall not apply with respect to the distribution
of commodities under this Act.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in section 203A of this Act,
none of the commodities distributed under this Act shall be sold or
otherwise disposed of in commercial channels in any form.
COMMODITIES NOT INCOME

SEC. 206. ø7 U.S.C. 7510¿ Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, commodities distributed under this Act shall not be considered income or resources for any purposes under any Federal,
State, or local law.
øPENALTIES¿
øSEC. 207. 5 ¿
PROHIBITION AGAINST CERTAIN STATE CHARGES

SEC. 208. ø7 U.S.C. 7511¿ Whenever a commodity is made
available without charge or credit under any nutrition program administered by the Secretary for distribution within the States to eligible recipient agencies, the State may not charge recipient agencies any amount that is in excess of the State’s direct costs of storing and transporting the commodities to recipient agencies minus
any amount the Secretary provides the State for the costs of storing and transporting such commodities.
5 Sec. 207 amended sec. 4(c) of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973.

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EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

Sec. 210

SEC. 209. ø7 U.S.C. 7511a¿ EMERGENCY FOOD PROGRAM INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS.
(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the term

‘‘eligible entity’’ means an emergency feeding organization.
(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use funds made
available under subsection (d) to make grants to eligible entities to pay the costs of an activity described in subsection (c).
(2) RURAL PREFERENCE.—The Secretary shall use not less
than 50 percent of the funds described in paragraph (1) for a
fiscal year to make grants to eligible entities that serve predominantly rural communities for the purposes of—
(A) expanding the capacity and infrastructure of food
banks, State-wide food bank associations, and food bank
collaboratives that operate in rural areas; and
(B) improving the capacity of the food banks to procure, receive, store, distribute, track, and deliver time-sensitive or perishable food products.
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity shall use a grant received under this section for any fiscal year to carry out activities
of the eligible entity, including—
(1) the development and maintenance of a computerized
system for the tracking of time-sensitive food products;
(2) capital, infrastructure, and operating costs associated
with the collection, storage, distribution, and transportation of
time-sensitive and perishable food products;
(3) improving the security and diversity of the emergency
food distribution and recovery systems of the United States
through the support of small or mid-size farms and ranches,
fisheries, and aquaculture, and donations from local food producers and manufacturers to persons in need;
(4) providing recovered foods to food banks and similar
nonprofit emergency food providers to reduce hunger in the
United States;
(5) improving the identification of—
(A) potential providers of donated foods;
(B) potential nonprofit emergency food providers; and
(C) persons in need of emergency food assistance in
rural areas; and
(6) constructing, expanding, or repairing a facility or
equipment to support hunger relief agencies in the community.
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2008 through 2023.
REGULATIONS

SEC. 210. ø7 U.S.C. 7512¿ (a) The Secretary shall issue regulations within 30 days to implement this Act.
(b) In administering this Act, the Secretary shall minimize, to
the maximum extent practicable, the regulatory, recordkeeping,
and paperwork requirements imposed on eligible recipient agencies.
(c)(1) The Secretary shall as early as feasible but not later than
the beginning of each fiscal year, publish in the Federal Register
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Sec. 211

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

12

an estimate of the types and quantities of commodities that the
Secretary anticipates are likely to be made available under the
commodity distribution program under this Act during the fiscal
year.
(2) The actual types and quantities of commodities made available by the Secretary under this Act may differ from the estimates
made under paragraph (1).
(d) The regulations issued by the Secretary under this section
shall include provisions that set standards with respect to liability
for commodity losses under the program under this title in situations in which there is no evidence of negligence or fraud, and conditions for payment to cover such losses. Such provisions shall take
into consideration the special needs and circumstances of emergency feeding organizations.
(e) The Secretary is authorized to issue final regulations without first issuing proposed regulations for public comment in order
to carry out the provisions of sections 213 and 214. If final regulations are issued without such prior public comment the Secretary
shall permit public comment on such regulations, consider pertinent comments, and make modifications of such regulations as appropriate not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
subsection. Such final and modified regulations shall be accompanied by a statement of the basis and purpose for such regulations.
FINALITY OF DETERMINATIONS

SEC. 211. ø7 U.S.C. 7513¿ Determinations made by the Secretary of Agriculture under this Act and the facts constituting the
basis for any donation of commodities under this Act, or the
amount thereof, when officially determined in conformity with the
applicable regulations prescribed by the Secretary, shall be final
and conclusive and shall not be reviewable by any other officer or
agency of the Government.
ø PROGRAM TERMINATION ¿
øSEC. 212. 6 ¿
SEC. 213. ø7 U.S.C. 7514¿ INCORPORATION OF ADDITIONAL COMMODITIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer the program

authorized under this Act in a manner that incorporates into the
program additional commodities purchased by the Secretary under
section 214 to be distributed to States for use in such States by
emergency feeding organizations, as defined in section 201A(1).
Such additional commodities, to the extent practicable and appropriate, shall include commodities purchased within a given State
for distribution within such State.
(b) SUPPLEMENT COMMODITIES AVAILABLE.—The Secretary
shall supplement the commodities made available to emergency
feeding organizations under sections 202 and 203D(a) with nutritious and useful commodities purchased by the Secretary under
section 214.
6 Sec. 212 was struck by sec. 871(e)(4) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104–193, 110 Stat. 2345, Aug. 22, 1996.

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13

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

Sec. 214

SEC. 214. ø7 U.S.C. 7515¿ REQUIRED PURCHASES OF COMMODITIES.
(a) MANDATORY ALLOTMENTS.—In each fiscal year, the Sec-

retary shall allot—
(1) 60 percent of the total value of additional commodities
provided to States in a manner such that the value of additional commodities allocated to each State bears the same ratio
to 60 percent of the total value of additional commodities as
the number of persons in households within the State having
incomes below the poverty line bears to the total number of
persons in households within all States having incomes below
such poverty line, and each State shall be entitled to receive
such value of additional commodities; and
(2) 40 percent of the total value of additional commodities
provided to States in a manner such that the value of additional commodities allocated to each State bears the same ratio
to 40 percent of the total value of additional commodities as
the average monthly number of unemployed persons within the
State bears to the average monthly number of unemployed persons within all States during the same fiscal year, and each
State shall be entitled to receive such value of additional commodities.
(b) REALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall notify each State of
the amount of the additional commodities that such State is allotted to receive under subsection (a), and each State shall promptly
notify the Secretary if such State determines that it will not accept
any or all of the commodities made available under such allocation.
On such a notification by a State, the Secretary shall reallocate
and distribute the amount the State was allocated to receive under
the formula prescribed in subsection (a) but declines to accept. The
Secretary shall further establish procedures to permit States to decline to receive portions of such allocation during each fiscal year
as the State determines is appropriate and the Secretary shall reallocate and distribute such allocation. In the event of any drought,
flood, hurricane, or other natural disaster affecting substantial
numbers of persons in a State, county, or parish, the Secretary may
request that States unaffected by such a disaster consider assisting
affected States by allowing the Secretary to reallocate commodities
to which each such unaffected State is entitled to States containing
areas adversely affected by the disaster.
(c) ADMINISTRATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Commodities made available for each fiscal year under this section shall be delivered at reasonable intervals to States based on the grants calculated under subsection (a), or reallocated under subsection (b), before December 31 of the following fiscal year.
(2) ENTITLEMENT.—Each State shall be entitled to receive
the value of additional commodities determined under subsection (a).
(d) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—If a State uses its own funds to
provide commodities or services to organizations receiving funds or
services under this section, such State shall not diminish the level
of support it provides to such organizations.
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Sec. 215

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1983

14

SEC. 215. ø7 U.S.C. 7516¿ SETTLEMENT AND ADJUSTMENT OF CLAIMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or a designee of the Secretary

shall have the authority to—
(1) determine the amount of, settle, and adjust any claim
arising under this Act; and
(2) waive such a claim if the Secretary determines that to
do so will serve the purposes of this Act.
(b) LITIGATION.—Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to diminish the authority of the Attorney General of the
United States under section 516 of title 28, United States Code, to
conduct litigation on behalf of the United States.

December 20, 2018