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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6697 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6697
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
December 12, 2025
Ms. Schrier (for herself, Mr. Van Drew, and Ms. Bonamici) introduced
the following bill; which was referred 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 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 ``Expanding Access To Healthy Foods
from Local Farmers Act'' or the ``EAT Healthy Foods from Local Farmers
Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.
(a) Purchase of Priority Agricultural Products.--Section 203D of
the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7507) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a) by inserting ``or that State agencies
purchase using funds made available under subsection (d),''
after ``distribution,'',
(2) in subsection (b) by inserting ``or purchased'' after
``donated'',
(3) by striking subsection (c),
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) by striking ``(d)'' and inserting ``(c)'', and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A) by striking
``subparagraphs (B) and (C)'' and inserting
``subparagraph (B)'',
(ii) by striking subparagraph (B), and
(iii) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as
subparagraph (B), and
(5) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) Projects for States To Purchase Certain Commodities From
Eligible Entities.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Project.--The term `project' means the
purchase of priority agricultural products from
eligible entities, and the distribution of those
products to needy persons through emergency feeding
organizations under subsection (a).
``(B) Priority agricultural product.--The term
`priority agricultural product' means a fruit,
vegetable, dairy, meat, seafood, grain, poultry, or
other commodity food product, available for sale by
eligible entities and that States determine to be
appropriate for distribution through emergency feeding
organizations and culturally or religiously relevant to
the local communities that will distribute the
products.
``(C) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity'
means any of the following small businesses that is a
grower, packer, processor, distributor, food-hub, or a
cooperative, and that--
``(i) is--
``(I) underserved, including women-
owned or veteran-owned; or
``(II) composed of, or sources
agricultural products from, beginning
farmers, or small or mid-sized farms
that are structured as family farms;
``(ii) can deliver the priority
agricultural products to emergency feeding
organizations selected by the State as being
most in need of the products; and
``(iii) that is committed to serving
communities in need and forging strong
relationships with emergency feeding
organizations, public agencies, and Tribal
governments through a project, as determined by
the State.
``(2) Federal funding for projects.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (C) and
paragraph (4), using funds made available under
paragraph (5), the Secretary may provide funds to
States to pay for the costs of carrying out a project.
``(B) Guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
issue guidance to States--
``(i) to carry out this section;
``(ii) to inform States of their
allocations under paragraph (3);
``(iii) to encourage States to partner with
a wide range of emergency feeding organizations
to reach communities in need, including those
disproportionately impacted by food insecurity;
and
``(iv) to inform States of public reporting
requirements and minimum project performance
standards, as developed by the Secretary.
``(C) Allocation.--
``(i) Eligibility for allocation.--The
Secretary shall allocate funds made available
under paragraph (5) based on the formula in
effect under section 214(a), among States that
submit a State plan of operation for a project
that includes--
``(I) a list of eligible entities
and emergency feeding organizations in
the State that will operate the project
in partnership with the State agency;
``(II) at the option of the State,
a list of priority agricultural
products located in the State that are
available for purchase and transport to
emergency feeding organizations to
identify which foods may be included in
the project;
``(III) a time line of when the
project will begin operating; and
``(IV) a plan to comply with the
standards set out in subparagraph
(B)(iv).
``(ii) Reallocation.--If the Secretary
determines that a State will not expend all the
funds allocated to the State under clause (i),
the Secretary shall reallocate the unexpended
funds to other eligible States.
``(iii) Report.--Each State that receives
funds allocated under this subparagraph shall
submit to the Secretary financial reports on a
regular basis describing the use of the funds.
``(3) Project purposes.--A State may only use Federal funds
received under paragraph (2) for a project the purposes of
which are--
``(A) to maintain and improve food and agricultural
supply chain resiliency;
``(B) to provide food to individuals in need; and
``(C) to build relationships between the State,
eligible entities and emergency feeding organizations
through the purchase of food.
``(4) Cooperative agreements.--
``(A) In general.--A State agency that carries out
a project using Federal funds received under this
subsection may enter into cooperative agreements with
State agencies of other States under section 203B(d) to
maximize the use of commodities purchased under the
project.
``(B) Submission.--Not later than 15 days after
entering into a cooperative agreement under clause (i),
a State agency shall submit such agreement to the
Secretary.
``(5) Funding.--There is authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary to carry out this subsection $200,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, to remain available
until the end of the respective subsequent fiscal year.
``(6) Reporting.--Not later than 4 years after the
effective date of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit
to the Committee of Agriculture of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of
the Senate a report containing--
``(A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of this
subsection in providing nutritious food to individuals
in need, improving agricultural supply chain
resiliency, and expanding economic opportunity for
eligible entities; and
``(B) recommendations for the implementation of
this subsection to improve nutrition outcomes.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 202A(b)(5) of the Emergency Food
Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7503(b)(5)) is amended by striking
``donated commodities received under section 203D(d)'' and inserting
``commodities donated under subsection (c), or purchased under
subsection (d), of section 203D''.
SEC. 3. INTRADEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION.
(a) Working Group.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall create a
cross-agency working group within the office of the Secretary to work
with relevant agencies and organizations of the Department of
Agriculture and with stakeholders to review and reconsider how all
Department procurement of priority agricultural products can be
directed to support a wider range of agricultural producers and
agricultural product distributors in a manner that meets the
Department's overarching goals of nutrition security, greater access to
culturally or religiously relevant foods for individuals and
households, resilient local and regional food systems, rural job
creation, and reversal of the concentration of the ownership of the
resources for the production and distribution of agricultural products.
(b) Annual Report.--The working group established under subsection
(a) shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate, an annual report describing the working group's
accomplishments, suggestions, and recommendations for administrative
actions and proposed legislation relating to the activities of such
group under such subsection.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
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