![\"IMG_2375\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_2375.jpeg\")
\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Congress Member Ritchie Torres tours the Sharing Excess facility in Hunts Point, Oct. 2025. <\/p>\n
Photo courtesy Torres\u2019 office<\/p>\n
Today, Rep. Ritchie Torres is introducing a \u201cbold\u201d plan to nationalize a food rescue system, which would redistribute excess food to hungry communities rather than to landfills.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Torres\u2019 \u201cFood Rescue Act,\u201d an amendment to the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983,<\/a> aims to establish a national rescue system through partnerships with organizations already doing the work, such as Sharing Excess<\/a>, which operates nationwide and has a facility within the Hunts Point Produce Market. <\/p>\n These organizations collect overstocked and imperfect-looking items from food businesses and other sources and transport them for distribution to people in need.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf we saved even a small fraction of the overall food we waste, we\u2019d solve the hunger and food crisis in America,\u201d Torres said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n A staggering proportion of the United States\u2019 food supply is wasted \u2014 nearly 40% according to Sharing Excess<\/a>. Approximately two-thirds of the wasted food supply is still edible, and yet, the equivalent of $215 billion is tossed in the trash each year, the organization says.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, tens of millions of Americans don\u2019t reliably have enough to eat, and Bronx households bear the brunt of it. A 2024 state report<\/a> found that 40% of adults in the borough \u2014 the highest rate among counties in New York City \u2014 are \u201calways, sometimes, or usually worried\u201d about being able to afford nutritious food.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem is not one of economics, it\u2019s a problem of logistics,\u201d said Torres. \u201cThe food is there. It\u2019s simply going to the wrong place.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Under his bill, food rescue organizations would apply for grants, overseen by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, allowing them to scale up operations and partner with food banks, logistics companies and others as needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Torres did not specify a dollar amount but said a national food rescue system, while a major investment, would be well worth the expense. The work would create \u201ca whole new sector of the economy\u201d with more jobs along every step of the logistics chain, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an era of political divisiveness, Torres said he is \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d that the Food Rescue Act will receive bipartisan support. He said solving hunger is possible with enough political will and that hunger affects all communities, whether urban or rural, Republican or Democrat.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFood waste carries a much higher cost than food rescue,\u201d Torres said.\n<\/p>\n Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t