[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2338 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2338
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish the
Strengthening Local Food Security Program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 17, 2025
Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Justice) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish the
Strengthening Local Food Security Program, 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 ``Strengthening Local Food Security
Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING LOCAL FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM.
Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 210B. STRENGTHENING LOCAL FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Collaborator.--The term `collaborator', with respect
to a project carried out under the Program, means an individual
or entity (including a private entity, a for-profit entity, and
a nonprofit entity) that--
``(A) is unaffiliated with the eligible unit of
government carrying out the project;
``(B) cooperates with respect to--
``(i) the application relating to the
project under subsection (e); and
``(ii) the conduct of the project; and
``(C) is not immediately connected to the
management of the project.
``(2) Covered producer.--The term `covered producer' means,
as determined by the Secretary--
``(A) a small or mid-sized fisher, farmer, or
rancher;
``(B) a beginning fisher, farmer, or rancher;
``(C) a veteran fisher, farmer, or rancher; and
``(D) an underserved fisher, farmer, or rancher.
``(3) Eligible unit of government.--The term `eligible unit
of government' means--
``(A) a State agency, commission, or department
that is responsible for agriculture, procurement, food
distribution, emergency response, or other similar
activities within the State;
``(B) the District of Columbia;
``(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
``(D) the United States Virgin Islands;
``(E) Guam; and
``(F) a Tribal government.
``(4) Partnership.--The term `partnership' means a
relationship involving close cooperation between or among
individuals and entities (including private, for-profit, and
nonprofit entities) with specified, joint rights and
responsibilities in the management of a project carried out
under the Program.
``(5) Program.--The term `Program' means the Strengthening
Local Food Security Program established under subsection (b).
``(6) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
``(7) Underserved community.--The term `underserved
community' means a community (including an urban or rural
community and a Tribal community) that, as determined by the
Secretary--
``(A) has limited access to affordable, healthy
foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, in
grocery retail stores or farmer-to-consumer direct
markets; and
``(B) has--
``(i) a high rate of hunger or food
insecurity; or
``(ii) a high poverty rate.
``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program, to
be known as the `Strengthening Local Food Security Program', under
which the Secretary shall enter into cooperative agreements with
eligible units of government for the purposes of--
``(1) purchasing food, including seafood, produce, meat,
eggs, dairy, and poultry, from local and regional covered
producers; and
``(2) distributing that food within the geographic
boundaries of the eligible unit of government, including to
hunger relief organizations and schools participating in school
meal programs under the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and the Child Nutrition Act
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.).
``(c) Purposes.--The purposes of the Program are--
``(1) to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply
chain resiliency and expand economic opportunities for covered
producers;
``(2) to promote food security; and
``(3) to strengthen the food system for food banks,
schools, and childcare institutions.
``(d) Noncompetitive Allocation.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--
``(A) enter into cooperative agreements with, and
provide funding to, eligible units of government under
the Program on a noncompetitive basis;
``(B) of the amounts appropriated to carry out the
Program for each fiscal year--
``(i) allocate 10 percent to Tribal
governments, to be allocated using a funding
formula determined by the Secretary;
``(ii) of the amounts remaining after
making the allocation under clause (i),
allocate 1 percent to each State; and
``(iii) after making the allocations under
clauses (i) and (ii), allocate the remaining
amounts to each eligible unit of government
(excluding Tribal governments) by applying the
formula described in section 214 of Public Law
98-8 (7 U.S.C. 7515); and
``(C) in the case of an eligible unit of government
that has not submitted to the Secretary, by the date
that is 1 year after the date on which amounts are
allocated to the eligible unit of government under
subparagraph (B), an application under subsection (e)
for spending those amounts, redistribute those amounts
to 1 or more other eligible units of government with
the capacity to spend those amounts.
``(2) Eligible units of government in same state.--For
purposes of allocating funding under paragraph (1), 1 or more
eligible units of government described in subsection (a)(3)(A)
in the same State shall be treated as 1 eligible unit of
government.
``(e) Applications.--
``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive funding under
this section, an eligible unit of government shall submit to
the Secretary an application, at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary shall require, by
regulation, including--
``(A) a plan that--
``(i) identifies--
``(I) the lead agency responsible
for carrying out the plan; and
``(II) community partners that will
contribute to the implementation of the
plan;
``(ii) describes the means by which the
funds will be used--
``(I) to grow a local food system;
and
``(II)(aa) to promote food
security;
``(bb) to increase the prevalence
of local, nutritious food in schools;
or
``(cc) to carry out both items (aa)
and (bb); and
``(iii) meets the requirements of
subsection (f); and
``(B) an assurance that--
``(i) the eligible unit of government will
comply with the requirements of the plan; and
``(ii) the funds will supplement, not
supplant, funds provided by the eligible unit
of government in support of local food, school
meals, or hunger relief systems.
``(2) Review.--The Secretary--
``(A) shall review each application submitted under
paragraph (1) to ensure that the plan included in the
application will carry out the purposes of the Program
described in subsection (c); and
``(B) may accept or reject each application, as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate.
``(f) Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--Under a cooperative agreement entered
into under the Program, an eligible unit of government shall--
``(A) only purchase food--
``(i) from fishermen, farmers, producers,
and processors that are--
``(I) within the geographic
boundaries of the eligible unit of
government in which the food will be
delivered; or
``(II) not more than 400 miles from
the delivery destination of the food;
or
``(ii) through a subawardee described in
subsection (g)(1) that purchases food to
fulfill the subaward only from fishermen,
farmers, producers, and processors that are--
``(I) within the geographic
boundaries of the eligible unit of
government in which the food will be
delivered; or
``(II) not more than 400 miles from
the delivery destination of the food;
``(B) ensure that not less than 51 percent of the
total annual value of products purchased by the
eligible unit of government and any subawardees
comprises purchases from covered producers;
``(C) give priority to distributing food to
underserved communities;
``(D) expend funding not later than 3 years after
the date on which the funding is provided to the
eligible unit of government; and
``(E) subject to paragraph (2), use not more than
25 percent of the amount allocated to the eligible unit
of government for Program administration and technical
assistance, which may include support for--
``(i) participating producers;
``(ii) efforts to grow the local
agricultural value chain; and
``(iii) covered producers in obtaining food
safety training and certifications.
``(2) Administration and technical assistance.--Of the
amount used for Program administration and technical assistance
under paragraph (1)(E), an eligible unit of government shall
allocate not less than 35 percent for technical assistance.
``(g) Subcontracts and Subawards.--To effectuate the purposes of
the Program described in subsection (c), an eligible unit of
government--
``(1) may enter into subcontracts (including with other
units of that government) and provide subawards to support
partnerships and collaborators, subject to subsection
(f)(1)(E); and
``(2) on entering into a subcontract or subaward pursuant
to paragraph (1), shall--
``(A) structure the subcontract or subaward to be
inclusive of all costs associated with implementing the
Program purposes, including the costs of--
``(i) food products;
``(ii) aggregation and distribution;
``(iii) equipment or infrastructure
upgrades to support food safety compliance; and
``(iv) personnel; and
``(B) require members of a partnership and
collaborators to demonstrate evidence of existing
community or industry engagement.
``(h) Availability of Funds.--To effectuate the purposes of the
Program described in subsection (c) and ensure that the producers
described in subsection (f)(1)(B) can meaningfully participate in the
Program, the Secretary shall provide--
``(1) not less than 50 percent of the funding awarded to an
eligible unit of government in advance of the distribution of
food under the agreement entered into under the Program; and
``(2) the remaining funding awarded to the eligible unit of
government not later than the midpoint of the period of
performance established in that agreement.
``(i) Food Safety Training and Certification.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may require food purchased
under a cooperative agreement entered into under the Program to
be purchased from a farm that has undergone food safety
training, or received a relevant food safety certification,
with respect to production, packaging, handling, and storage to
minimize risks of food safety hazards.
``(2) Training, plans, and certifications.--If the
Secretary imposes the requirement described in paragraph (1)--
``(A)(i) compliance with the requirement may be
demonstrated by--
``(I) a receipt of food safety training,
including Good Agricultural Practices training,
or an equivalent food safety curriculum; or
``(II) a relevant food safety
certification; but
``(ii) the Secretary shall not require such
compliance to be demonstrated by a Federal
certification; and
``(B) each eligible unit of government shall
provide technical assistance in obtaining the required
food safety training or certification, in accordance
with subsection (f)(1)(E).
``(j) Reports.--An eligible unit of government that enters into a
cooperative agreement under the Program shall submit to the Secretary,
at such times as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, reports
that shall include data relating to the procurement and distribution of
food under the cooperative agreement.
``(k) 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 2025 and each fiscal year
thereafter.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to
other funds and authorities available to the Secretary, in
order to carry out activities under this section, there is
authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2025 through 2029, to remain available until expended by
the Secretary.''.
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