EAT Healthy Foods from Local Farmers Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4185 To amend the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to provide additional agricultural products for distribution by emergency feeding organizations; and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2023 Ms. SCHRIER (for herself, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. SMITH of Wash- ington, and Ms. DELBENE) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to provide additional agricultural products for distribution by emergency feeding organizations; and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Access To 4 Healthy Foods from Local Farmers Act’’ or the ‘‘EAT 5 Healthy Foods from Local Farmers Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 4185 IH SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 1 (a) PURCHASE OF PRIORITY AGRICULTURAL PROD- 2 UCTS.—Section 203D of the Emergency Food Assistance 3 Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7507) is amended— 4 (1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘or that State 5 agencies purchase using funds made available under 6 subsection (d),’’ after ‘‘distribution,’’, 7 (2) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘or pur- 8 chased’’ after ‘‘donated’’, 9 (3) by striking subsection (c), 10 (4) in subsection (d)— 11 (A) by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(c)’’, 12 and 13 (B) in paragraph (2)— 14 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking 15 ‘‘subparagraphs (B) and (C)’’ and insert- 16 ing ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’, 17 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B), and 18 (iii) by redesignating subparagraph 19 (C) as subparagraph (B), and 20 (5) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 21 lowing: 22 ‘‘(d) PROJECTS FOR STATES TO PURCHASE CERTAIN 23 COMMODITIES FROM ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 24 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 4185 IH ‘‘(A) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means 1 the purchase of priority agricultural products 2 from eligible entities, and the distribution of 3 those products to needy persons through emer- 4 gency feeding organizations under subsection 5 (a). 6 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY AGRICULTURAL PROD- 7 UCT.—The term ‘priority agricultural product’ 8 means a fruit, vegetable, dairy, meat, seafood, 9 grain, poultry, or other commodity food prod- 10 uct, available for sale by eligible entities and 11 that States determine to be appropriate for dis- 12 tribution through emergency feeding organiza- 13 tions and culturally or religiously relevant to 14 the local communities that will distribute the 15 products. 16 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi- 17 ble entity’ means any of the following small 18 businesses that is a grower, packer, processor, 19 distributor, food-hub, or a cooperative, and 20 that— 21 ‘‘(i) is— 22 ‘‘(I) underserved, including 23 women-owned or veteran-owned; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 4185 IH ‘‘(II) composed of, or sources ag- 1 ricultural products from, beginning 2 farmers, or small or mid-sized farms 3 that are structured as family farms; 4 ‘‘(ii) can deliver the priority agricul- 5 tural products to emergency feeding orga- 6 nizations selected by the State as being 7 most in need of the products; and 8 ‘‘(iii) that is committed to serving 9 communities in need and forging strong re- 10 lationships with emergency feeding organi- 11 zations, public agencies, and Tribal govern- 12 ments through a project, as determined by 13 the State. 14 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PROJECTS.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 16 graph (C) and paragraph (4), using funds made 17 available under paragraph (5), the Secretary 18 may provide funds to States to pay for the costs 19 of carrying out a project. 20 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days 21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 22 retary shall issue guidance to States— 23 ‘‘(i) to carry out this section; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 4185 IH ‘‘(ii) to inform States of their alloca- 1 tions under paragraph (3); 2 ‘‘(iii) to encourage States to partner 3 with a wide range of emergency feeding or- 4 ganizations to reach communities in need, 5 including those disproportionately impacted 6 by food insecurity; and 7 ‘‘(iv) to inform States of public re- 8 porting requirements and minimum project 9 performance standards, as developed by 10 the Secretary. 11 ‘‘(C) ALLOCATION.— 12 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY FOR ALLOCATION.— 13 The Secretary shall allocate funds made 14 available under paragraph (5) based on the 15 formula in effect under section 214(a), 16 among States that submit a State plan of 17 operation for a project that includes— 18 ‘‘(I) a list of eligible entities and 19 emergency feeding organizations in 20 the State that will operate the project 21 in partnership with the State agency; 22 ‘‘(II) at the option of the State, 23 a list of priority agricultural products 24 located in the State that are available 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 4185 IH for purchase and transport to emer- 1 gency feeding organizations to identify 2 which foods may be included in the 3 project; 4 ‘‘(III) a time line of when the 5 project will begin operating; and 6 ‘‘(IV) a plan to comply with the 7 standards set out in subparagraph 8 (B)(iv). 9 ‘‘(ii) REALLOCATION.—If the Sec- 10 retary determines that a State will not ex- 11 pend all the funds allocated to the State 12 under clause (i), the Secretary shall reallo- 13 cate the unexpended funds to other eligible 14 States. 15 ‘‘(iii) REPORT.—Each State that re- 16 ceives funds allocated under this subpara- 17 graph shall submit to the Secretary finan- 18 cial reports on a regular basis describing 19 the use of the funds. 20 ‘‘(3) PROJECT PURPOSES.—A State may only 21 use Federal funds received under paragraph (2) for 22 a project the purposes of which are— 23 ‘‘(A) to maintain and improve food and ag- 24 ricultural supply chain resiliency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 4185 IH ‘‘(B) to provide food to individuals in need; 1 and 2 ‘‘(C) to build relationships between the 3 State, eligible entities and emergency feeding 4 organizations through the purchase of food. 5 ‘‘(4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State agency that 7 carries out a project using Federal funds re- 8 ceived under this subsection may enter into co- 9 operative agreements with State agencies of 10 other States under section 203B(d) to maximize 11 the use of commodities purchased under the 12 project. 13 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 15 14 days after entering into a cooperative agree- 15 ment under clause (i), a State agency shall sub- 16 mit such agreement to the Secretary. 17 ‘‘(5) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be ap- 18 propriated to the Secretary to carry out this sub- 19 section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 20 through 2028, to remain available until the end of 21 the respective subsequent fiscal year. 22 ‘‘(6) REPORTING.—Not later than 4 years after 23 the effective date of this subsection, the Secretary 24 shall submit to the Committee of Agriculture of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 4185 IH House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag- 1 riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a 2 report containing— 3 ‘‘(A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 4 this subsection in providing nutritious food to 5 individuals in need, improving agricultural sup- 6 ply chain resiliency, and expanding economic 7 opportunity for eligible entities; and 8 ‘‘(B) recommendations for the implementa- 9 tion of this subsection to improve nutrition out- 10 comes.’’. 11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 202A(b)(5) 12 of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 13 7503(b)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘donated commodities 14 received under section 203D(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘commod- 15 ities donated under subsection (c), or purchased under 16 subsection (d), of section 203D’’. 17 SEC. 3. INTRADEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION. 18 (a) WORKING GROUP.—The Secretary of Agriculture 19 shall create a cross-agency working group within the office 20 of the Secretary to work with relevant agencies and orga- 21 nizations of the Department of Agriculture and with 22 stakeholders to review and reconsider how all Department 23 procurement of priority agricultural products can be di- 24 rected to support a wider range of agricultural producers 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 4185 IH and agricultural product distributors in a manner that 1 meets the Department’s overarching goals of nutrition se- 2 curity, greater access to culturally or religiously relevant 3 foods for individuals and households, resilient local and 4 regional food systems, rural job creation, and reversal of 5 the concentration of the ownership of the resources for 6 the production and distribution of agricultural products. 7 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—The working group estab- 8 lished under subsection (a) shall submit to the Committee 9 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 10 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 11 Senate, an annual report describing the working group’s 12 accomplishments, suggestions, and recommendations for 13 administrative actions and proposed legislation relating to 14 the activities of such group under such subsection. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB