The Secretary shall establish procedures under which State and local agencies, charitable institutions, or any other persons may supplement the commodities distributed under the program authorized by this chapter 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 chapter.
States and emergency feeding organizations may use the funds appropriated under this chapter and equipment, structures, vehicles, and all other facilities involved in the storage, handling, or distribution of commodities made available under this chapter, 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).
State and emergency feeding organizations shall continue, to the maximum extent practicable, 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.
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).
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 7503(b)(5) of this title 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.
The Secretary shall issue guidance outlining best practices to minimize the food waste of the commodities donated under subsection (a).
The term “apparently wholesome food” has the meaning given the term in section 1791(b) of title 42.
The term “institution of higher education” has the meaning given the term in section 1002 of title 20.
The term “qualified direct donor” means a retail food store, wholesaler, agricultural producer, restaurant, caterer, school food authority, or institution of higher education.
Not later than 180 days after December 20, 2018, the Secretary shall issue guidance to promote awareness of donations of apparently wholesome food protected under section 1791(c) of title 42 by qualified direct donors in compliance with applicable State and local health, food safety, and food handling laws (including regulations).
The Secretary shall encourage State agencies and emergency feeding organizations to share the guidance issued under subparagraph (A) with qualified direct donors.