Local Foods for Healthy Schools Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9474 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9474

To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to direct the Secretary
    of Agriculture to establish the Local Foods for Healthy Schools
                                Program.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2026

   Ms. McDonald Rivet (for herself and Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania)
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
                              Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to direct the Secretary
    of Agriculture to establish the Local Foods for Healthy Schools
                                Program.

    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 Foods for Healthy Schools Act
of 2026''.

SEC. 2. LOCAL FOODS FOR HEALTHY SCHOOLS 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. LOCAL FOODS FOR HEALTHY SCHOOLS PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program, to
be known as the `Local Foods for Healthy Schools Program', (in this
section referred to as the `Program') under which the Secretary shall
enter into noncompetitive cooperative agreements with eligible units of
government for the purpose of--
            ``(1) purchasing local foods from covered producers; and
            ``(2) facilitating the distribution of such foods to
        schools operating in the geographic boundaries of each such
        eligible unit of government.
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--Under a cooperative agreement entered into
under this section, an eligible unit of government shall--
            ``(1) with respect to the use of any funds received under
        the Program--
                    ``(A) purchase only local foods from a covered
                producer and distribute such food to any school food
                authority that is interested in receiving such food; or
                    ``(B) disburse such funds to any such school food
                authority to purchase only local foods from a covered
                producer; and
            ``(2) reserve not more than 5 percent of any funds received
        under the Program to--
                    ``(A) provide training and technical assistance to
                persons involved in carrying out the activities
                described under this section;
                    ``(B) with respect to purchasing local foods from a
                covered producer, pay the cost such producer incurs in
                obtaining any required food safety certification;
                    ``(C) conduct oversight and reporting in the State
                of such eligible unit of government; and
                    ``(D) administer the activities described under
                this section.
    ``(c) Application.--An eligible unit of government seeking to enter
into a cooperative agreement under the Program shall submit to the
Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Secretary may require, including--
            ``(1) a plan that--
                    ``(A) identifies the lead agency responsible for
                carrying out such plan;
                    ``(B) identifies any community partner, including
                an aggregator, that will contribute to implementation
                of such plan;
                    ``(C) describes the proposed use of any funds
                received under the Program; and
                    ``(D) demonstrates that, to the extent possible
                based on availability and local conditions, a wide
                variety of local foods will be purchased and
                distributed using funds received under the Program; and
            ``(2) an assurance that--
                    ``(A) the funds received under this section will
                supplement, and not supplant, funds provided by the
                State in support of providing local foods to school
                food authorities or for school meals; and
                    ``(B) the eligible unit of government has
                sufficient mechanisms in place to ensure the efficient
                and reliable transfer of funds received under the
                Program, or distribution of food, to school food
                authorities, schools, covered producers, and community
                partners in accordance with the plan required under
                paragraph (1).
    ``(d) Coordination.--In carrying out any requirements of the
Program, an eligible unit of government shall coordinate with any other
applicable eligible unit of government in the State in which such unit
of government operates.
    ``(e) Noncompetitive Allocation.--
            ``(1) Allocation formula.--Of the amounts available to
        carry out the Program for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall
        develop an allocation formula that provides--
                    ``(A) a State-based allocation that is equal for
                each State;
                    ``(B) that any funds remaining after the allocation
                under subparagraph (A) are distributed such that the
                amount a State receives under this subparagraph bears
                the same proportion to such remaining funds as the
                number of students receiving meals under the programs
                described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection
                (h)(4) in that State bears to the number of such
                students in all States; and
                    ``(C) in the case of funds allocated to an eligible
                unit of government that are not obligated by the end of
                the applicable performance period, for the rescission
                and reallocation, in the manner described in
                subparagraph (B), of such funds for purposes of
                carrying out the Program.
            ``(2) Limitation.--In developing the allocation formula
        under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall allot not more than 30
        percent of the total funds available to carry out this section
        under subsection (g) to the State-based allocation under
        paragraph (1)(A).
            ``(3) Reallocation.--From any funds that an eligible unit
        of government has not obligated by the end of the performance
        period for the cooperative agreement of such eligible unit of
        government, the Secretary may reallocate, in the manner
        described in paragraph (1)(B), such funds to 1 or more States
        in which an eligible unit of government has entered into a
        cooperative agreement with the Secretary, if such eligible unit
        of government in such a State has the capacity to expend
        additional funds.
    ``(f) Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date on
        which the Secretary requires any funds received under the
        Program to be expended, each eligible unit of government that
        enters into a cooperative agreement under the Program shall
        submit to the Secretary a report containing data relating to
        the purchase and distribution of local foods described under
        subsection (b)(1), including the amount of any funds expended,
        the name of the covered producer receiving any such funds, and
        the local foods purchased from such producer.
            ``(2) Determination by secretary.--In establishing any
        additional requirement related to the submission of a report
        under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall minimize any
        administrative burden on eligible units of government, school
        food authorities, schools, and community partners involved in
        carrying out the activities described under this section.
            ``(3) Publication.--An eligible unit of government that
        submits a report under paragraph (1) shall make such report
        available to the public on the website of the State educational
        agency (as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) of the
        applicable State at the time of such submission.
    ``(g) Funding.--
            ``(1) Mandatory funding.--For fiscal year 2026, and each
        fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall use $200,000,000 of
        the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this
        section.
            ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to
        other funds and authorities available to the Secretary, there
        is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
        $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, and each fiscal year
        thereafter, to remain available until expended.
            ``(3) Administration.--Notwithstanding any other provision
        of law, the Secretary may reserve not more than 0.50 percent of
        the total amount of funds made available under this subsection
        each fiscal year to support Federal administrative activities
        to carry out this section.
    ``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered producer.--The term `covered producer' means
        a farmer, producer, rancher, processor, distributor, or other
        such business involved in food production or distribution
        that--
                    ``(A) is in the geographic boundaries of a State in
                which an eligible unit of government has entered into a
                cooperative agreement with the Secretary under this
                section;
                    ``(B) is in a 400-mile radius of the location of
                the school food authority receiving a distribution
                under the Program; or
                    ``(C) meets such other requirement proposed by such
                eligible unit of government and approved by the
                Secretary.
            ``(2) Eligible unit of government.--The term `eligible unit
        of government' means an agency, commission, or department of a
        State responsible for agriculture, child nutrition,
        procurement, food distribution, or such other similar
        activities, as determined appropriate by the Secretary, in such
        State.
            ``(3) Local foods.--The term `local foods' means
        agricultural products that--
                    ``(A) are minimally processed, including products
                that are whole, cut, pureed, fresh, frozen, canned, or
                dried; and
                    ``(B) are produced and distributed--
                            ``(i) in the same State;
                            ``(ii) in a 400-mile radius of the school
                        food authority receiving or purchasing such
                        products under the Program; or
                            ``(iii) in a manner that meets any such
                        other requirement proposed by such eligible
                        unit of government and approved by the
                        Secretary.
            ``(4) School.--The term `school' means a school (as defined
        in section 12(d) of the Richard B. Russell National School
        Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(d))) that participates in--
                    ``(A) the school lunch program established under
                the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42
                U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); or
                    ``(B) the school breakfast program established
                under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
                U.S.C. 1773).
            ``(5) School food authority.--The term `school food
        authority' means the governing body that--
                    ``(A) is responsible for the administration of a
                program described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of
                paragraph (4) in one or more schools; and
                    ``(B) has legal authority to receive from an
                eligible unit of government a distribution of local
                foods or disbursement of funds under the Program.
            ``(6) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
        of Agriculture.
            ``(7) State.--The term `State' means any of the fifty
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
        Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.''.
                                 <all>