[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2778 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2778
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
a program for the procurement of domestically grown unprocessed fruits
and vegetables to provide healthier school meals, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 11, 2025
Mr. Wyden (for himself, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Bennet) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
a program for the procurement of domestically grown unprocessed fruits
and vegetables to provide healthier school meals, 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 School Foods Expansion Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. PROGRAM FOR PROCUREMENT OF DOMESTICALLY GROWN UNPROCESSED
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
Section 6(f) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act
(42 U.S.C. 1755(f)) is amended--
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Pilot Project
for Procurement of'' and inserting ``Program for Procurement of
Domestically Grown'';
(2) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``conduct a pilot project'' and
inserting ``carry out a program (referred to in this
subsection as the `program')'';
(B) by inserting ``domestically grown'' before
``unprocessed''; and
(C) by striking ``8'' and inserting ``14'';
(3) by striking ``pilot project'' each place it appears and
inserting ``program'';
(4) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``domestically grown'' before
``unprocessed'';
(5) in paragraph (3)(B), in the matter preceding clause
(i), by striking ``1 project is located in a State'' and
inserting ``2 projects are located in 1 or more States'';
(6) in paragraph (4)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as
subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following:
``(B) the demonstrated commitment of the State to
support small, local, and socially disadvantaged
farmers;
``(C) the demonstrated commitment of the State to
support Tribal agricultural producers and communities
utilizing traditional foods;
``(D) whether the State will serve a high
proportion of children from socially disadvantaged
backgrounds in carrying out the program;'';
(7) in paragraph (5)--
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``Recordkeeping and reporting'' and inserting
``Recordkeeping, reporting, and evaluation'';
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at
the end;
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking the period
at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) the challenges and opportunities
presented by the program in the State.''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Program evaluation.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this
subparagraph, the Secretary shall evaluate the
impact of the program, including with respect
to--
``(I) the quantity and cost of each
type of unprocessed fruit and vegetable
procured by each State under the
program;
``(II) the benefit of the procured
unprocessed fruits and vegetables to
school food service in each State,
including the benefit to meeting school
meal requirements;
``(III) the economic impact of the
program on agricultural producers in
the State;
``(IV) the economic, geographic,
social, and administrative barriers to
participation, including the
reimbursement process, experienced by
agricultural producers and school food
authorities; and
``(V) eligibility requirements for
agricultural producers, including any
barriers to becoming approved vendors.
``(ii) Report.--Not later than 4 years
after the date of enactment of this
subparagraph, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the
Senate a report that describes the results of
the evaluation conducted under clause (i) and
an analysis of that evaluation.''; and
(8) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Funding.--
``(A) Mandatory funding.--There is appropriated to
carry out this subsection $25,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
``(B) Reservation for administrative costs;
technical assistance.--
``(i) In general.--Of the funds
appropriated under subparagraph (A) for each
fiscal year, $10,000,000 shall be reserved for
States selected under the program under
paragraph (1) to carry out the activities
described in clause (ii)(I).
``(ii) Administrative costs; technical
assistance.--
``(I) In general.--The funds
reserved under clause (i) shall be
used--
``(aa) for the
administrative costs of
carrying out the program,
including costs of satisfying
record keeping and reporting
requirements;
``(bb) to coordinate among
or share with agencies and
departments involved in
carrying out the program in the
State; and
``(cc) to provide technical
assistance and outreach to--
``(AA) vendors to
become certified to
participate in the
program; and
``(BB) school food
authorities, regional
food hubs, State and
local agencies, Indian
Tribal organizations,
agricultural producers,
socially disadvantaged
farmers, and other
entities to participate
in the program.
``(II) Minimum allotment.--Of the
funds reserved under clause (i), each
State selected under paragraph (3)(A)
shall receive not less than $500,000
for each fiscal year during which the
State participates in the program.
``(C) Reservation for technical assistance to
nonparticipating states.--Of the funds appropriated
under subparagraph (A) for each fiscal year, $1,000,000
shall be reserved--
``(i) only if there are fewer than 14
States participating in the program that fiscal
year; and
``(ii) to provide technical assistance with
eligibility requirements for States seeking to
participate in the program.''.
<all>