II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3982 

To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish the Expanding 

Access to Local Foods Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 20, 2024 

Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. BUTLER, 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. KING, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. SMITH, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. FETTERMAN, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish the Expanding Access to Local Foods Program, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Access To 

5 Local Foods Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘EAT Local Foods Act 

6 of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXPANDING ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS PROGRAM. 

2 Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 

3 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 210B. EXPANDING ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS PRO6 GRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) COLLABORATOR.—The term ‘collaborator’, 

9 with respect to a project carried out using funding 

10 provided under this section, means an individual or 

11 entity (including private, for-profit, and nonprofit 

12 entities) that— 

13 ‘‘(A) is unaffiliated with the eligible unit of 

14 government carrying out the project; 

15 ‘‘(B) cooperates with respect to— 

16 ‘‘(i) the application relating to the 

17 project under subsection (d); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the conduct of the project; and 

19 ‘‘(C) is not immediately connected to the 

20 management of the project. 

21 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE UNIT OF GOVERNMENT.—The 

22 term ‘eligible unit of government’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) a State agency, commission, or de24 partment that is responsible for agriculture, 

25 procurement, food distribution, emergency reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Apr 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3982.IS S3982

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1 sponse, or other similar activities within the 

2 State; 

3 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; 

4 ‘‘(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

5 ‘‘(D) the United States Virgin Islands; 

6 ‘‘(E) Guam; and 

7 ‘‘(F) a Tribal government. 

8 ‘‘(3) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘partnership’ 

9 means a relationship involving close cooperation be10 tween or among individuals and entities (including 

11 private, for-profit, and nonprofit entities) with speci12 fied, joint rights and responsibilities in the manage13 ment of a project carried out using funding provided 

14 under this section. 

15 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 

16 the Expanding Access To Local Foods Program es17 tablished under subsection (b). 

18 ‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

19 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

20 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—To maintain and improve 

21 food and agricultural supply chain resiliency and expand 

22 economic opportunities for small and underserved pro23 ducers while promoting food security, the Secretary shall 

24 establish a program, to be known as the ‘Expanding Ac25 cess To Local Foods Program’, under which the Secretary 


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1 shall enter into cooperative agreements with eligible units 

2 of government for the purposes of— 

3 ‘‘(1) purchasing food, including seafood, meat, 

4 and poultry, from local, regional, and underserved 

5 producers; and 

6 ‘‘(2) distributing that food within the geo7 graphic boundaries of the eligible unit of govern8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(c) NONCOMPETITIVE ALLOCATION.—The Secretary 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) enter into cooperative agreements with, 

12 and provide funding to, eligible units of government 

13 under the Program on a noncompetitive basis; 

14 ‘‘(2) of the amounts appropriated to carry out 

15 the Program for each fiscal year— 

16 ‘‘(A) allocate 10 percent to Tribal govern17 ments, to be allocated using a funding formula 

18 determined by the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(B) of the amounts remaining after mak20 ing the allocation under subparagraph (A), allo21 cate 1 percent to each State; and 

22 ‘‘(C) after making the allocations under 

23 subparagraphs (A) and (B), allocate the re24 maining amounts to each eligible unit of gov25 ernment (excluding Tribal governments) by apVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Apr 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3982.IS S3982

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1 plying the formula described in section 214 of 

2 Public Law 98–8 (7 U.S.C. 7515); and 

3 ‘‘(3) in the case of an eligible unit of govern4 ment that has not submitted to the Secretary, by the 

5 date that is 1 year after the date on which amounts 

6 are allocated to the eligible unit of government 

7 under paragraph (2), an application under sub8 section (d) for spending those amounts, redistribute 

9 those amounts to 1 or more other eligible units of 

10 government with the capacity to spend those 

11 amounts. 

12 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 

14 funding under this section, an eligible unit of gov15 ernment shall submit to the Secretary an applica16 tion, at such time, in such manner, and containing 

17 such information as the Secretary shall require, by 

18 regulation, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) a plan that— 

20 ‘‘(i) identifies— 

21 ‘‘(I) the lead agency responsible 

22 for carrying out the plan; and 

23 ‘‘(II) community partners that 

24 will contribute to the implementation 

25 of the plan; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) describes the means by which the 

2 funds will be used— 

3 ‘‘(I) to grow a local food system; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) to promote food security; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) meets the requirements of sub8 section (e); and 

9 ‘‘(B) an assurance that— 

10 ‘‘(i) the eligible unit of government 

11 will comply with the requirements of the 

12 plan; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the funds will supplement, not 

14 supplant, funds provided by the eligible 

15 unit of government in support of local food 

16 or hunger relief systems. 

17 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—The Secretary— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall review each application sub19 mitted under paragraph (1) to ensure that the 

20 plan included in the application will carry out 

21 the purposes of the Program described in sub22 section (b); and 

23 ‘‘(B) may accept or reject each application, 

24 as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

25 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under a cooperative agree2 ment entered into under the Program, an eligible 

3 unit of government shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) only purchase food— 

5 ‘‘(i) from fishermen, farmers, pro6 ducers, and processors that are— 

7 ‘‘(I) within the geographic bound8 aries of the eligible unit of govern9 ment in which the food will be deliv10 ered; or 

11 ‘‘(II) not more than 400 miles 

12 from the delivery destination of the 

13 food; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) through a subawardee described 

15 in subsection (f)(1) that purchases food to 

16 fulfill the subaward only from fishermen, 

17 farmers, producers, and processors that 

18 are— 

19 ‘‘(I) within the geographic bound20 aries of the eligible unit of govern21 ment in which the food will be deliv22 ered; or 

23 ‘‘(II) not more than 400 miles 

24 from the delivery destination of the 

25 food; 


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1 ‘‘(B) ensure that not less than 51 percent 

2 of the total annual value of products purchased 

3 by the eligible unit of government and any sub4 awardees comprises purchases from small, be5 ginning, or underserved farmers, ranchers, and 

6 fishers, as defined by the Secretary; 

7 ‘‘(C) give priority to distributing food to 

8 underserved communities, as determined by the 

9 Secretary; 

10 ‘‘(D) expend funding not later than 3 

11 years after the date on which the funding is 

12 provided to the eligible unit of government; and 

13 ‘‘(E) subject to paragraph (2), use not 

14 more than 25 percent of the amount allocated 

15 to the eligible unit of government for Program 

16 administration and technical assistance, which 

17 may include support for— 

18 ‘‘(i) participating producers; 

19 ‘‘(ii) efforts to grow the local agricul20 tural value chain; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) small, beginning, veteran, and 

22 underserved farmers, as determined by the 

23 Secretary, in obtaining food safety training 

24 and certifications. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNICAL ASSIST2 ANCE.—Of the amount used for Program adminis3 tration and technical assistance under paragraph 

4 (1)(E), an eligible unit of government shall allocate 

5 not less than 50 percent for technical assistance. 

6 ‘‘(f) SUBCONTRACTS AND SUBAWARDS.—To effec7 tuate the purposes of the Program, as described in sub8 section (b), an eligible unit of government— 

9 ‘‘(1) may enter into subcontracts and provide 

10 subawards to support partnerships and collabo11 rators, subject to subsection (e)(1)(E); and 

12 ‘‘(2) on entering into a subcontract or 

13 subaward pursuant to paragraph (1), shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) structure the subcontract or 

15 subaward to be inclusive of all costs associated 

16 with implementing the Program purposes, in17 cluding the costs of— 

18 ‘‘(i) food products; 

19 ‘‘(ii) aggregation and distribution; 

20 ‘‘(iii) equipment or infrastructure up21 grades to support food safety compliance; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(iv) personnel; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) require members of a partnership and 

2 collaborators to demonstrate evidence of exist3 ing community or industry engagement. 

4 ‘‘(g) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—To effectuate the 

5 purposes of the Program and ensure that the producers 

6 described in subsection (e)(1)(B) can meaningfully partici7 pate in the Program, the Secretary shall provide— 

8 ‘‘(1) not less than 50 percent of the funding 

9 awarded to an eligible unit of government in advance 

10 of the distribution of food under the agreement en11 tered into under the Program; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the remaining funding awarded to the eli13 gible unit of government not later than the midpoint 

14 of the period of performance established in that 

15 agreement. 

16 ‘‘(h) FOOD SAFETY TRAINING AND CERTIFI17 CATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 

19 food purchased under a cooperative agreement en20 tered into under the Program to be purchased from 

21 a farm that has undergone food safety training, or 

22 received a relevant food safety certification, with re23 spect to production, packaging, handling, and stor24 age to minimize risks of food safety hazards. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TRAINING, PLANS, AND CERTIFI2 CATIONS.—If the Secretary imposes the requirement 

3 described in paragraph (1)— 

4 ‘‘(A)(i) compliance with the requirement 

5 may be demonstrated by— 

6 ‘‘(I) a receipt of food safety training, 

7 including Good Agricultural Practices 

8 training, or an equivalent food safety cur9 riculum; or 

10 ‘‘(II) a relevant food safety certifi11 cation; but 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary shall not require such 

13 compliance to be demonstrated by a Federal 

14 certification; and 

15 ‘‘(B) each eligible unit of government shall 

16 provide technical assistance in obtaining the re17 quired food safety training or certification, in 

18 accordance with subsection (e)(1)(E). 

19 ‘‘(i) REPORTS.—An eligible unit of government that 

20 enters into a cooperative agreement under the Program 

21 shall submit to the Secretary, at such times as the Sec22 retary determines to be appropriate, reports that shall in23 clude data relating to the procurement and distribution 

24 of food under the cooperative agreement. 

25 ‘‘(j) FUNDING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

2 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

3 shall use to carry out this section $200,000,000 for 

4 fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

6 addition to other funds and authorities available to 

7 the Secretary, in order to carry out activities under 

8 this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

9 $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

10 2028, to remain available until expended by the Sec11 retary.’’. 

Æ 


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