[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5309 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5309
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into contracts to
provide individuals dealing with food and nutrition insecurity family-
friendly fresh produce, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 21, 2021
Ms. DeLauro (for herself and Mr. McGovern) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into contracts to
provide individuals dealing with food and nutrition insecurity family-
friendly fresh produce, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fresh Produce Procurement Reform Act
of 2021''.
SEC. 2. CONTRACTS FOR FRESH PRODUCE.
(a) In General; Purposes.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the
Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service and in consultation
with the Administrator of Food and Nutrition Service, shall establish a
program (in this section referred to as the ``Program'') under which
the Secretary shall enter into contracts with eligible entities to
procure fresh produce for distribution to qualifying nonprofits that
serve individuals at risk of food and nutrition insecurity. The Program
shall aim to--
(1) increase access to a wide variety of fresh fruits and
vegetables to low-income households;
(2) directly connect fruit and vegetable producers and
distributors to nonprofit emergency feeding entities;
(3) increase the Federal Government's procurement of fresh
fruits and vegetables;
(4) strengthen the local and regional food supply chain;
(5) reduce on-farm food loss; and
(6) model nimbleness and responsiveness in and out of
emergency situations.
(b) Selection Criteria.--In determining whether to award
contractors, the Secretary of Agriculture should consider whether the
eligible entity--
(1) has previous experience distributing fresh produce
through the Department of Agriculture;
(2) has demonstrated experience in fresh produce supply
chain distribution;
(3) holds qualifications including, PACA license, food
safety certifications, and any other requirements as determined
by the Secretary;
(4) operates a facility or facilities in or adjacent to the
State where the produce will be distributed;
(5) sources from small and medium sized growers and local
and regional produce as geographically and seasonally feasible;
and
(6) offers the government a price determined to be the
overall best value without limiting evaluation factors to
lowest price or highest technical rating.
(c) Priority.--In entering into contracts under the Program, the
Secretary shall give priority to the following:
(1) Socially disadvantaged eligible entities, including
women-owned and veteran-owned.
(2) Eligible entities that are, or source from, beginning
farmers, or small or mid-sized farms that are structured as
family farms, as defined in subsection (g).
(3) Eligible entities that can deliver to areas in most
need of fresh produce, as determined by the Secretary.
(4) Eligible entities that can demonstrate a commitment to
serving local communities through strong relationships with
qualifying nonprofits, public agencies, and Tribal governments,
as determined by the Secretary.
(d) Contract Terms and Produce Makeup.--The Secretary shall ensure
the following when administering contracts:
(1) The period of performance under the contract shall be--
(A) at least 90 days; and
(B) not more than 120 days.
(2) Eligible entity is located in the State or locality in
which produce is provided, or has demonstrated experience
distributing to the service area.
(3) Award multiple contracts within each of the United
States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Services
regions to provide opportunities for a broad range of producers
and entities.
(4) The makeup of the produce includes:
(A) Only fresh fruits and vegetables grown in the
United States.
(B) Locally grown fruits and vegetables where
geographically and seasonally possible, as determined
by the Secretary.
(C) No fewer than seven varieties of fresh fruits
and vegetables.
(D) Offer a variety of both fruits and vegetables
consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for
Americans published under section 301 of the National
Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990.
(E) Include culturally competent commodities, as
determined by the Secretary in consultation with the
distributing agency.
(5) Price paid by the government is inclusive of all
transportation and distribution costs associated with
delivering to the final destination of eligible nonprofit
distributing partner.
(e) Program Administration.--
(1) Qualifying nonprofits.--The Secretary shall establish a
process for which to identify qualifying nonprofit entities
that may participate in the Program and conduct outreach to
ensure that eligible nonprofits are made aware of the Program.
(2) Equity and geographic reach.--In carrying out the
Program each fiscal year, the Secretary shall enter into
contracts with eligible entities in a manner that ensures the
total value of contracts entered into in each State, territory,
or Tribal entity, is proportionate to the number of households
and individuals living in poverty within the State, territory,
or Tribal entity, as determined by the Secretary.
(A) Vulnerable areas.--The Secretary shall
establish a process--
(i) to determine the areas most in need of
produce provision under the Program, including
rural areas, the territories and possessions of
the United States, and areas under the
jurisdiction of a Tribal government; and
(ii) to ensure such areas are served by the
Program.
(B) Technical assistance.--The Secretary shall
provide technical assistance to eligible entities
participating in the Program with respect to--
(i) the contact terms and expectations
applicable to covered entities under the
Program;
(ii) best practices for the distribution of
the produce and expectations of distribution;
and
(iii) food safety certification.
(C) Financial assistance.--the Secretary shall
provide information to assist small, beginning,
veteran, and socially disadvantaged farmers in
obtaining food safety certifications and covering the
associated costs of necessary changes and upgrades to
practices and equipment to improve food safety.
(f) Reporting.--
(1) Not later than one year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall provide to Congress a report on
activities carried out under the Program, including counties
and percentage of counties served, number of produce packages
provided, quantity and variety of fresh produce distributed,
number of farms sourced from, including size of farms, and
percentage of produce procured locally and regionally and other
data as determined by the Secretary.
(2) Not later than 1 year after the enactment of this Act,
the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to
the Committee of Agriculture of the House of Representatives a
report that evaluates the Program's effectiveness at meeting
the goals as stated in subsection (a).
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means
any of the following small businesses, as defined by the Small
Business Administration:
(A) Grower, packer, distributor, or food-hub.
(B) A nonprofit organization.
(C) A cooperative.
(2) Qualifying nonprofit.--The term ``qualifying
nonprofit'' means all of the following:
(A) A nonprofit food bank, soup kitchen, school,
child or senior care center, youth serving community
based organization, Tribal organization, or public
agency participating in an existing United States
Department of Agriculture nutrition program including,
but not limited to, National School Lunch Program,
Summer Food Service Program, Child and Adult Care Food
Program, Food Distribution Program on Indian
Reservations, Commodity Supplemental Food Program, or
Emergency Food Assistance Program.
(B) A food bank or other nonprofit that does not
meet criteria under subsection (a) but has demonstrated
experience in serving needs of vulnerable populations
facing food and nutrition insecurity and can
demonstrate necessary food safety understanding and
other requirements as determined by the Secretary.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture acting through the Administrator of the
Agricultural Marketing Service of the Department of
Agriculture.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means all States within the
United States of America, the District of Columbia, territories
and possessions, and Tribal governments.
(5) Beginning farmer.--The term ``beginning farmer'' has
the meaning given the term in section 343(a) of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)).
(6) Socially disadvantaged applicant or farmer.--The term
``socially disadvantaged applicant or farmer'' has the meaning
given the term in section 761.2 of title 7, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(7) Veteran farmer.--The term ``veteran farmer'' has the
meaning given the term in section 2501(e) of the Food,
Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.
2279(e)).
(8) Family farm.--The term ``family farm'' has the meaning
given the term in section 231(a) of the Agricultural Risk
Protection Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 1632(a)).
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