H.R. 5234

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5234 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5234

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 9, 2025

Ms. Jayapal (for herself, Ms. Norton, and Mr. Smith of Washington) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

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 
recordkeeping 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.''.
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