119-s2778

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2778 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2778

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 September 11, 2025

 Mr. Wyden (for himself, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Bennet) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

 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 
 record keeping 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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