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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5632 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5632

 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and administer a 
 pilot program to provide grants to support Food is Medicine programs, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            December 19 (legislative day, December 16), 2024

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and administer a 
 pilot program to provide grants to support Food is Medicine programs, 
                        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 ``Fueling Optimal Outcomes through 
Diet for Health Act of 2024'' or the ``FOOD for Health Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FOOD IS MEDICINE PILOT GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and administer a pilot 
program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities 
described in subsection (b) to support Food is Medicine programs.
    (b) Application.--To be eligible for a grant under this section, an 
entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
determines is appropriate.
    (c) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded under this section may only be 
used to support the activities of a Food is Medicine program, 
including--
            (1) operating an on-site emergency feeding operation;
            (2) medically tailored packaging or delivery of groceries;
            (3) medically tailored meals and produce prescriptions;
            (4) providing individual or group-based evidence-based 
        cooking skills (including through the use of digital 
        technologies);
            (5) promoting dietary intervention strategies or other 
        health-related strategies; and
            (6) transportation of program participants to and from the 
        communities served by the program.
    (d) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 
shall give priority to eligible entities described in subsection (b)--
            (1) that will incorporate local and regional foods, as 
        determined by the Secretary, into activities funded by the 
        grant; or
            (2) that will include registered dieticians or nutrition 
        professionals in the activities funded by the grant.
    (e) Regional Balance; Advancing Health Equity.--In awarding grants 
under this section, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 
practicable--
            (1) ensure geographic diversity;
            (2) ensure the equitable treatment of--
                    (A) urban, rural, and tribal communities; and
                    (B) communities in territories of the United 
                States; and
            (3) advance health equity.
    (f) Reports.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Initial report.--Not later than 2 years after 
                the date of the establishment of the pilot program 
                referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
                submit to Congress a report that--
                            (i) analyzes the efficiency of such pilot 
                        program; and
                            (ii) assesses the impact of such pilot 
                        program on patient outcomes and system costs.
                    (B) Final report.--Not later than 6 years after the 
                date of the establishment of the pilot program referred 
                to in subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to 
                Congress an updated version of the report referred to 
                in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Elements.--The reports described in paragraph (1) shall 
        each contain descriptions of--
                    (A) the details and implementation of the pilot 
                program referred to in subsection (a);
                    (B) the participant selection criteria used by Food 
                is Medicine programs supported by grants awarded under 
                this section;
                    (C) the diseases and other medical issues being 
                addressed by grants awarded under this section;
                    (D) the strategies of such Food is Medicine 
                programs in providing healthy, affordable food to 
                program participants;
                    (E) the use and impact of medical nutrition therapy 
                in coordination with the provision of food on the 
                outcomes of participants treated by such Food is 
                Medicine programs; and
                    (F) the impact of grants awarded under this section 
                on the health (including behavioral health) of 
                participants in such Food is Medicine programs.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Diet-related disease.--The term ``diet-related 
        disease'' means--
                    (A) diabetes and prediabetes;
                    (B) a renal disease;
                    (C) obesity (as defined by the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention or as otherwise defined by the 
                Secretary);
                    (D) hypertension;
                    (E) dyslipidemia;
                    (F) malnutrition;
                    (G) an eating disorder;
                    (H) cancer;
                    (I) a gastrointestinal disease, including celiac 
                disease;
                    (J) HIV/AIDS;
                    (K) cardiovascular disease;
                    (L) mental illness, including depression and 
                anxiety; and
                    (M) any other disease as determined appropriate by 
                the Secretary.
            (2) Food is medicine program.--The term ``Food is Medicine 
        program'' means a program developed or operated by a community-
        based organization (such as an emergency feeding operation), in 
        partnership with a health care provider (such as a community 
        health clinic), to deploy the provision of food or medical 
        nutrition therapy services to benefit participants 
        experiencing, at risk of, or recovering from a diet-related 
        disease.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
                                 <all>
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