H.R. 4782

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4782 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4782

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program under 
which the Secretary will enter into cooperative agreements with State, 
local, or Tribal governments to increase the purchase of local foods, 
and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 29, 2025

Mr. Bresnahan (for himself, Mr. Valadao, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Riley of New 
York, Mr. Wied, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Ms. Budzinski, Mr. 
Costa, Mr. Vindman, Mr. Panetta, and Ms. Adams) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program under 
which the Secretary will enter into cooperative agreements with State, 
local, or Tribal governments to increase the purchase of local foods, 
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 Farmers Feeding our 
Communities Act''.

SEC. 2. LOCAL FARMERS FEEDING OUR COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a 
program under which the Secretary will enter into cooperative 
agreements (on a noncompetitive basis) with eligible entities--
(1) to help support covered local producers through 
building and expanding economic opportunities;
(2) to establish and broaden partnerships with such covered 
local producers and the food distribution community to ensure 
distribution of fresh and nutritious foods; and
(3) to strengthen such entity's local and regional food 
security and systems.
(b) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity selected to enter into a 
cooperative agreement under this section shall use funds received 
through such agreement--
(1) to purchase unprocessed or minimally processed local 
foods (including seafood, meat, milk and dairy products, eggs, 
produce, and poultry) from covered producers;
(2) to ensure that at least 25 percent of the total annual 
value of products purchased by the eligible entity comprises 
purchases from small-size producers, mid-size producers, 
beginning farmers or ranchers, or veteran farmers or ranchers;
(3) to provide technical assistance supporting--
(A) covered local producers, including in obtaining 
food safety training and certifications; and
(B) efforts to grow the local agricultural value 
chain;
(4) to distribute such local foods to organizations that 
have experience in food distributiondistribution, including 
nonprofits, to improve access to healthy and nutritious food; 
and
(5) to build and expand economic opportunity for covered 
local producers.
(c) Limitation on Use of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Of the amount made available to an 
eligible entity through a cooperative agreement under this 
section, an eligible entity may use not more than 25 percent of 
such amount--
(A) to cover administrative expenses; and
(B) to provide technical assistance described in 
subsection (b)(3);
(2) Allocation for technical assistance.--Of the amount 
described in paragraph (1), an eligible entity shall use not 
less than 50 percent to provide technical assistance described 
in subsection (b)(3).
(d) Technical Assistance to Eligible Entities.--The Secretary shall 
provide to eligible entities entering into a cooperative agreement 
under this section guidance, technical assistance, instruction, and 
monitoring throughout the life cycle of the cooperative agreement.
(e) Amount of Allocation.--Of the amounts made available to carry 
out this section for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall--
(1) allocate 10 percent to Tribal governments, to be 
allocated using a funding formula determined by the Secretary; 
and
(2) of the amounts remaining after making the allocation 
under paragraph (1), allocate 1 percent to each State (other 
than Tribal governments); and
(3) after making the allocations under paragraphs (1) and 
(2), allocate the remaining amounts to each eligible entity 
(other than Tribal governments) by applying the formula 
described in section 214 of the Emergency Food Assistance Act 
of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7515).
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Beginning farmer or rancher; veteran farmer or 
rancher.--The terms ``beginning farmer or rancher'' and 
``veteran farmer or rancher'' have the meanings given such 
terms in section 2501 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 
and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279).
(2) Covered producer.--The term ``covered producer'' means 
a fisherman, farmer, producer, rancher, processor, or 
cooperative processor that is--
(A) within the geographic boundaries of the 
eligible entity in which the food will be delivered; or
(B) not more than 400 miles from the delivery 
destination of the food.
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
State agency, commission, or department that is responsible for 
agriculture, procurement, food distribution, emergency 
response, or other similar activities within the State.
(4) Mid-size producer.--The term ``mid-sized producer'' 
means an individual whose annual gross cash farm income is 
equal to or exceeds $350,000 and is less than $999,999.
(5) Small-size producer.--The term ``small-sized producer'' 
means one whose annual gross cash farm income is less than 
$350,000.
(6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, each territory or possession 
of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian 
Tribe.
(7) Unprocessed or minimally processed local foods.--The 
term ``unprocessed or minimally processed local foods'' means 
only those agricultural products that retain their inherent 
character. Such term includes--
(A) fruits and vegetables (including 100 percent 
juices);
(B) grain products, such as pastas and rice;
(C) meats (including whole carcasses, pieces 
thereof, or ground meat);
(D) protein sources that are meat alternatives 
(such as beans or legumes) and fluid milk and other 
dairy foods (such as cheese and yogurt); and
(E) foods in a wide variety of minimal processing 
states (such as whole, cut, or pureed) or forms (such 
as fresh, frozen, canned, or dried).
(g) 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 2026 and each fiscal year 
thereafter.
(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
to be appropriated to carry out this section $200,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, to remain available 
until expended.
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