[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4782 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4782
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program under
which the Secretary will enter into cooperative agreements with State,
local, or Tribal governments to increase the purchase of local foods,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2025
Mr. Bresnahan (for himself, Mr. Valadao, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Riley of New
York, Mr. Wied, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Ms. Budzinski, Mr.
Costa, Mr. Vindman, Mr. Panetta, and Ms. Adams) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program under
which the Secretary will enter into cooperative agreements with State,
local, or Tribal governments to increase the purchase of local foods,
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 ``Local Farmers Feeding our
Communities Act''.
SEC. 2. LOCAL FARMERS FEEDING OUR COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a
program under which the Secretary will enter into cooperative
agreements (on a noncompetitive basis) with eligible entities--
(1) to help support covered local producers through
building and expanding economic opportunities;
(2) to establish and broaden partnerships with such covered
local producers and the food distribution community to ensure
distribution of fresh and nutritious foods; and
(3) to strengthen such entity's local and regional food
security and systems.
(b) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity selected to enter into a
cooperative agreement under this section shall use funds received
through such agreement--
(1) to purchase unprocessed or minimally processed local
foods (including seafood, meat, milk and dairy products, eggs,
produce, and poultry) from covered producers;
(2) to ensure that at least 25 percent of the total annual
value of products purchased by the eligible entity comprises
purchases from small-size producers, mid-size producers,
beginning farmers or ranchers, or veteran farmers or ranchers;
(3) to provide technical assistance supporting--
(A) covered local producers, including in obtaining
food safety training and certifications; and
(B) efforts to grow the local agricultural value
chain;
(4) to distribute such local foods to organizations that
have experience in food distributiondistribution, including
nonprofits, to improve access to healthy and nutritious food;
and
(5) to build and expand economic opportunity for covered
local producers.
(c) Limitation on Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Of the amount made available to an
eligible entity through a cooperative agreement under this
section, an eligible entity may use not more than 25 percent of
such amount--
(A) to cover administrative expenses; and
(B) to provide technical assistance described in
subsection (b)(3);
(2) Allocation for technical assistance.--Of the amount
described in paragraph (1), an eligible entity shall use not
less than 50 percent to provide technical assistance described
in subsection (b)(3).
(d) Technical Assistance to Eligible Entities.--The Secretary shall
provide to eligible entities entering into a cooperative agreement
under this section guidance, technical assistance, instruction, and
monitoring throughout the life cycle of the cooperative agreement.
(e) Amount of Allocation.--Of the amounts made available to carry
out this section for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall--
(1) allocate 10 percent to Tribal governments, to be
allocated using a funding formula determined by the Secretary;
and
(2) of the amounts remaining after making the allocation
under paragraph (1), allocate 1 percent to each State (other
than Tribal governments); and
(3) after making the allocations under paragraphs (1) and
(2), allocate the remaining amounts to each eligible entity
(other than Tribal governments) by applying the formula
described in section 214 of the Emergency Food Assistance Act
of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7515).
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Beginning farmer or rancher; veteran farmer or
rancher.--The terms ``beginning farmer or rancher'' and
``veteran farmer or rancher'' have the meanings given such
terms in section 2501 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation,
and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279).
(2) Covered producer.--The term ``covered producer'' means
a fisherman, farmer, producer, rancher, processor, or
cooperative processor that is--
(A) within the geographic boundaries of the
eligible entity in which the food will be delivered; or
(B) not more than 400 miles from the delivery
destination of the food.
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
State agency, commission, or department that is responsible for
agriculture, procurement, food distribution, emergency
response, or other similar activities within the State.
(4) Mid-size producer.--The term ``mid-sized producer''
means an individual whose annual gross cash farm income is
equal to or exceeds $350,000 and is less than $999,999.
(5) Small-size producer.--The term ``small-sized producer''
means one whose annual gross cash farm income is less than
$350,000.
(6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, each territory or possession
of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian
Tribe.
(7) Unprocessed or minimally processed local foods.--The
term ``unprocessed or minimally processed local foods'' means
only those agricultural products that retain their inherent
character. Such term includes--
(A) fruits and vegetables (including 100 percent
juices);
(B) grain products, such as pastas and rice;
(C) meats (including whole carcasses, pieces
thereof, or ground meat);
(D) protein sources that are meat alternatives
(such as beans or legumes) and fluid milk and other
dairy foods (such as cheese and yogurt); and
(E) foods in a wide variety of minimal processing
states (such as whole, cut, or pureed) or forms (such
as fresh, frozen, canned, or dried).
(g) Funding.--
(1) Mandatory funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity
Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this
section $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year
thereafter.
(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $200,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, to remain available
until expended.
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