The "New Opportunities for Technological Innovation, Mitigation, and Education To Overcome Waste Act," or the NO TIME TO Waste Act, seeks to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out extensive activities aimed at reducing food loss and waste. Its overarching goal is to achieve a 50 percent reduction in food loss and waste by 2030, compared to 2016 levels. To accomplish this, the bill establishes an Office of Food Loss and Waste within the Department of Agriculture, tasked with comprehensive research, reporting, and policy analysis.

The Office's responsibilities include quantifying on-farm and supply chain food loss, researching new reduction technologies, and assessing the impact of reduction policies on greenhouse gas emissions. It will also publish reports, create educational tools, and track federal programs related to food loss and waste. Furthermore, the Office is mandated to establish a grant program to support data collection on existing State and local food loss and waste policies, with the collected data used to develop model policies for various governmental levels.

To enhance coordination, the bill directs the Secretary to establish regional coordinators within the USDA. These coordinators will partner with food producers, processors, and recovery organizations to facilitate real-time food recovery and provide technical support. Additionally, the Secretary will establish a program for awarding annual block grants to States and Indian Tribes to develop and support food recovery infrastructure and innovative distribution models, addressing gaps in areas like storage, temperature-controlled transport, and technological solutions.

The legislation strengthens interagency collaboration by requiring the Secretary, in conjunction with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to work together on food loss and waste initiatives. It mandates annual reports to Congress on this collaboration and expands engagement with other federal departments. Significantly, the bill amends the Federal Food Donation Act of 2008 to require federal contractors to report on their efforts to prevent and reduce food loss and waste, rather than merely encouraging it.

The bill also prioritizes food loss and waste research within existing USDA grant programs and amends the Composting and Food Waste Reduction Program to include Tribal governments and provide guidance for resource-limited applicants. A new grant program will incentivize the formation of public-private partnerships committed to reducing food loss and waste, requiring a 50 percent match from grant recipients. Finally, the Secretary, in consultation with the EPA Administrator, will launch a national food waste education and public awareness campaign, utilizing both community engagement and national messaging to educate consumers on food preservation, safety, composting, and upcycled food products, with pilot projects and waste audits to assess effectiveness. Various sections of the bill authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to fund these initiatives.