HB 1379 2022
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hb1379-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to food recovery; amending s. 595.420, 2
F.S.; providing definitions; directing the Department 3
of Agriculture and Consumer Services, subject to 4
appropriation, to implement a pilot program to provide 5
incentives to Florida growers to contribute high -6
quality fresh fruits and vegetables to food recovery 7
entities in the state; authorizing food recovery 8
entities to negotiate the purchase price of produc e 9
and reimburse agricultural companies for certain 10
costs; providing produce shipping requirements; 11
requiring the department to reimburse food recovery 12
entities for certain costs; providing reimbursement 13
invoice requirements; requiring the department to 14
submit a report to the Governor and Legislature by a 15
specified date and to adopt rules; providing an 16
appropriation; providing an effective date. 17
18
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19
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Section 1. Subsection (8) is added to section 595.420, 21
Florida Statutes, to read: 22
595.420 Food recovery; legislative intent; department 23
functions.— 24
(8)(a) As used in this subsection, the term: 25
HB 1379 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1. "Agricultural company" means a fruit or vegetable 26
producer in the state that has an affiliated shipp er and is 27
licensed under the United States Perishable Agricultural 28
Commodities Act. 29
2. "Food recovery entity" means a nonprofit association 30
engaged in food recovery and distribution with at least 20 years 31
of operation in the state that has received a min imum of 10 32
million pounds of perishable produce annually for the last 3 33
years. 34
(b) Subject to appropriation, the department shall 35
implement a pilot program to provide incentives to Florida 36
agricultural companies to contribute high -quality fresh fruits 37
and vegetables to food recovery entities in the state. The goal 38
of the pilot program is to reach annual contributions of 50 39
million pounds of high -quality fresh fruits and vegetables from 40
Florida growers to food recovery entities by July 1, 2025. 41
(c) To encourage agricultural companies to contribute 42
high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables, a food recovery entity 43
may negotiate the price per pound for produce and reimburse 44
agricultural companies on a dollar -for-dollar basis for costs 45
relating to picking, pac king, precooling, and transporting high -46
quality fresh fruits and vegetables from the farm to the food 47
recovery entity. Such produce must meet the Unites States 48
Department of Agriculture grade 1 or 2 standards and must be 49
shipped within 7 days after the har vest date. The shipping date 50
HB 1379 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
may be modified based on the expected shelf life of a particular 51
fruit or vegetable, as long as the modified shipping date will 52
not affect the grade 1 or 2 standards. The harvest date must be 53
included on the invoice provided by the agricultural company to 54
the food recovery entity. 55
(d) The department shall reimburse food recovery entities 56
on a dollar-for-dollar basis for the purchase of high -quality 57
fresh fruits and vegetables from agricultural companies plus a 58
10 cents per pound distribution reimbursement. To receive 59
reimbursement, a food recovery entity must submit an invoice as 60
prescribed by the department, which includes, at a minimum, the 61
following information: 62
1. Ship date. 63
2. Ship location by city. 64
3. Harvest date. 65
4. Packaging type and size. 66
5. Delivery location by city. 67
6. Delivery date. 68
7. Received weight in total pounds for each crop. 69
8. Total price per pound for each crop. 70
9. Total invoice price paid. 71
10. Total pounds delivered. 72
(e) The department shall submit a report on the pilot 73
program, including recommendations for legislation, to the 74
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 75
HB 1379 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
House of Representatives by January 1, 2025. 76
(f) The department shall adopt ru les to implement this 77
subsection. 78
Section 2. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the sum of $5 79
million in nonrecurring funds is appropriated to the Department 80
of Agriculture and Consumer Services to implement a pilot 81
program pursuant to s. 595.420(8), Flori da Statutes. 82
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 83