| R 229 |
| 2017 -- H 5421 Enacted 05/04/2017 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CREATING A SPECIAL HOUSE COMMISSION TO STUDY IMPLEMENTATION OF A FOOD RECOVERY INCENTIVE PROGRAM |
| Introduced By: Representatives Carson, Winfield, Fogarty, and Ajello |
| Date Introduced: February 08, 2017 |
| WHEREAS, Local food pantries have become critically important to households and |
| families that literally live hand to mouth, and with difficult economic times, donations and |
| contributions cannot keep up with need; and |
| WHEREAS, Feeding America's 2014 statistics indicate that 48.1 million Americans, |
| including 15.3 million children, 5.4 million seniors, and 27.4 million additional adults live in food |
| insecure households. In Rhode Island, twelve percent (12%) of the state's households are food |
| insecure, and four and seven-tenths percent (4.7%) of Rhode Island households experience severe |
| food insecurity (hunger); and |
| WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Community Food Bank serves 60,000 Rhode Islanders |
| each month, and one out of three of those served is a child under the age of 18. Statewide, the |
| Rhode Island food distribution system disseminated 9.4 million pounds of food to families last |
| year; and |
| WHEREAS, According to Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) Solid |
| Waste Characterization Study, forty-six percent (46%) of the waste produced by grocery stores |
| was from food and 48 percent of the waste produced from restaurants is food; and |
| WHEREAS, The Johnston Landfill handles most of the 1.5 million tons of waste the state |
| generates annually, and while the site is not forecast to fill up for another 25 years, if the trash |
| stream is cut down, it could last many more years; and |
| WHEREAS, These food waste products, from both grocery stores and restaurants, are |
| directly impacting our already overburdened landfills and have a great potential for reduction |
| through donation programs; and |
| WHEREAS, The National Resource Defense Council reports that forty percent (40%) of |
| the food in the United States is lost somewhere from farm to landfill, with food being the number |
| one component in our nation's landfills and one-third of all food produced for humans going to |
| waste; and |
| WHEREAS, Section 21-34-1 of the Rhode Island General Laws protects donors from |
| liability and yet, according to We Share Hope, one in seven Rhode Islanders are still food |
| insecure. The commitment by local grocery stores, restaurants and other food producing entities |
| to donating nutritious, leftover food to feed hungry people, not landfills, will be a positive step in |
| solving our states hunger pains; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created |
| consisting of thirteen (13) members: three (3) of whom shall be members of the Rhode Island |
| House of Representatives, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by |
| the Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island Department of |
| Health, or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger |
| Free America, or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of Acquisition and Distribution for |
| the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, or designee; one of whom shall be the President of the |
| Rhode Island Food Dealers Association, or designee; one of whom shall be a member of a Rhode |
| Island Chamber of Commerce Association, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one of |
| whom shall be the Dean of Culinary Education in the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & |
| Wales University, or designee; one of whom shall be the Chair of the Rhode Island Food Policy |
| Council, or designee; one of whom shall be the Chairman of the Rhode Island Hospitality |
| Association, or designee; one of whom shall be the Chair of the Inter-Agency Food & Nutrition |
| Policy Advisory Council, or designee; and one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island |
| Resource Recovery Corporation, or designee. |
| In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory |
| commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly |
| resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu |
| of a legislator, provided that the majority leader or the minority leader of the political party which |
| is entitled to the appointment consents to the member of the general public. |
| The purpose of said commission shall be to make a comprehensive study, and provide |
| recommendations for the steps necessary to remove barriers, and provide incentives to implement |
| and increase food recovery and donations in Rhode Island. |
| Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at |
| the call of the Speaker of the House and organize and shall select a chairperson from among the |
| legislators. |
| Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. |
| The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. |
| All departments and agencies of the state, shall furnish such advice and information, |
| documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or |
| desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. |
| The Speaker of the House is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters |
| for said commission; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the |
| House of Representatives no later than March 7, 2018, and said commission shall expire on June |
| 7, 2018. |
| ======== |
| LC001031 |
| ======== |