I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4971 

To increase the emphasis on urban agricultural issues in the Department 

of Agriculture through the establishment of a new office to ensure that 

Department authorities are used to effectively encourage local agricultural production and increase the availability of fresh food in urban 

areas, particularly underserved communities experiencing hunger, poor 

nutrition, obesity, and food insecurity, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 25, 2010 

Ms. KAPTUR (for herself, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. 

JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. LEE

of California, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. ROYBALALLARD, Mr. CLAY, Mr. RUSH, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. HARE, Ms. SUTTON, 

Mr. TONKO, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. SHERMAN, and Mrs. DAHLKEMPER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 

the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To increase the emphasis on urban agricultural issues in 

the Department of Agriculture through the establishment 

of a new office to ensure that Department authorities 

are used to effectively encourage local agricultural production and increase the availability of fresh food in 

urban areas, particularly underserved communities expeVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:41 Mar 30, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H4971.IH H4971

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riencing hunger, poor nutrition, obesity, and food insecurity, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Greening Food Deserts Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and sense of Congress. 

Sec. 3. Office of Urban Agriculture. 

Sec. 4. Natural Resource Conservation Service technical assistance in support 

of backyard conservation and community gardening programs. 

Sec. 5. Urban forest invasive species control program. 

Sec. 6. Extension and additional funding for seniors farmers’ market nutrition 

program. 

Sec. 7. Infrastructure funding for farmers’ markets. 

Sec. 8. Evaluation of state of farmers’ markets in census of agriculture. 

Sec. 9. Renaming of Rural Energy for America Program to reflect purpose of 

the program. 

Sec. 10. Urban agriculture outreach program. 

Sec. 11. Promotion of agricultural education programs in schools by authorizing higher reimbursement rates under school lunch, school 

breakfast, and summer food service programs. 

Sec. 12. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program pilot program of local sustainability grants. 

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND INTENT OF CONGRESS. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

10 (1) Dramatic economic, demographic, and land 

11 use changes in the United States have created areas 

12 where no supermarkets exist and where limited food 

13 choice, poor food quality, and lack of affordable food 

14 prices impact large segments of the country’s popu15 lation. 


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1 (2) Demographic changes have opened vast 

2 pockets of arable land for agriculture in America’s 

3 urban centers. 

4 (3) Diversifying United States food production 

5 from a globally consolidated and industrial food 

6 chain to one which includes local production rep7 resents an important opportunity to strengthen 

8 United States agriculture. 

9 (4) With poverty rising due to chronic unem10 ployment and with food becoming a more significant 

11 component of family budgets, local production be12 comes an important option for families facing food 

13 insecurity. 

14 (5) It is estimated that 18.5 percent of Amer15 ican households have withheld food purchases due to 

16 economic circumstances, and many of these house17 holds reside in ethnically and racially diverse com18 munities. 

19 (6) Food insecurity, epidemic levels of obesity, 

20 hypertension, diabetes and youth osteoporosis are 

21 caused by improper nutrition in food deserts without 

22 nutritious, reliable, and locally available healthy food 

23 options. 


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1 (7) Advances in agricultural technologies makes 

2 production possible in regions previously cordoned 

3 off from such opportunity. 

4 (8) With studies suggesting that much of the 

5 American west is becoming permanently more arid 

6 and 40 percent of all fresh water resources in the 

7 United States are used for irrigation, the need for 

8 more efficient food production and agriculture closer 

9 to point of consumption is critical. 

10 (9) Concentration in agricultural production 

11 and outsourcing have exacerbated the food insecurity 

12 of many communities. 

13 (10) In 2001, at least 2,300,000 Americans 

14 lived in homes in urban areas located more than a 

15 mile from the nearest supermarket. 

16 (11) Because many of these Americans are 

17 without access to a motor vehicle with which to 

18 reach supermarkets located more than a mile away 

19 from their homes, and there is no accessible local 

20 farm production, vast segments of urban areas are 

21 now described as ‘‘food deserts’’. 

22 (12) The majority of youth in the United States 

23 are growing up in environments with little knowledge 

24 of natural food production and nutrition and lack 

25 basic survival skills. 


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1 (13) Two million, two hundred four thousand, 

2 seven hundred ninety-two farms were in operation in 

3 2007, including 300,000 new farms that began oper4 ations with smaller less consolidated operations and 

5 lower sales than the average of all farms nationwide. 

6 (14) These new farms, on average, consisted of 

7 201 acres of land and generated an average of 

8 $71,000 in income, which was nearly half the aver9 age size and income levels for the average American 

10 farm. 

11 (15) Rising fuel costs make transporting food 

12 long distances significantly more expensive, but cre13 ate opportunities for the economical production of 

14 food closer to point of consumption. 

15 (16) From 1997 to 2009, the value of imported 

16 food products to the United States increased over 

17 100 percent from $43,000,000,000 to 

18 $86,700,000,000, which has led to a growing reli19 ance on foreign-produced food, particularly during 

20 cold seasons, as diminished options exist for locally 

21 produced fresh and affordable choices. 

22 (17) Expanding production and access to locally 

23 produced food strengthens the vital link between 

24 healthy populations, sustainable living, and the nat25 ural world. 


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1 (18) Diabetes and obesity alone cost the Amer2 ican people approximately $130,000,000,000 annu3 ally in medical expenses and lost productivity. 

4 (19) Expanding access to food for vulnerable 

5 populations involves regional food production in 

6 communities where the link between daily life and 

7 the natural world has been all but eliminated. 

8 (20) Many of the tools exist to break the cycle 

9 of food insecurity and empower communities: For 

10 example, by the end of World War II, over 

11 20,000,000 home gardens were supplying 40 percent 

12 of domestically consumed produce. 

13 (21) Between 1994 and 2008, the number of 

14 farmers’ markets nationwide grew 167 percent and 

15 between fiscal years 2005 and 2006, the number of 

16 farmers’ markets with electronic benefit transfer de17 vices grew from 436 to 532. 

18 (22) Promoting the many different forms of ag19 riculture, both consolidated, industrial agriculture 

20 and small scale, decentralized agriculture, is bene21 ficial to serving many different needs in a diverse so22 ciety. 

23 (23) In 2007, 247,772 farms harvested 

24 39,259,592 acres of specialty crops and produced 

25 $67,417,397,000 worth of food products, which, if 


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1 expanded to include production in food deserts 

2 across the country, has the potential to provide in3 vestment and improved nutrition to communities and 

4 reinvent urban landscapes that lack sufficient access 

5 to food. 

6 (24) In the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

7 Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–246), Congress pro8 vided the Department of Agriculture with sufficient 

9 flexibility in implementing certain programs to pro10 mote locally based agricultural enterprises, including 

11 a 5 percent set-aside for business and industry loan 

12 program for underserved communities, significant 

13 increases for the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition 

14 Program that links local producers and consumers, 

15 an expanded authorization for the Farm to School 

16 Program, and new legal requirements allowing flexi17 bility in local purchase by some nutrition programs. 

18 (b) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Con19 gress— 

20 (1) to augment existing authorities to engage 

21 agricultural production, combat food insecurity, and 

22 counteract the substitution of imported products as 

23 they displace greater shares domestically produced 

24 products; 


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1 (2) to pursue better coordination to empower 

2 communities to eliminate food deserts, purchase and 

3 produce food locally, create sustainable food systems, 

4 and connect better the existing programs that can 

5 and should be used to alleviate pockets of hunger 

6 and severe food insecurity; 

7 (3) to work with the various State agencies re8 sponsible for administering the Federal nutrition 

9 programs on methods and strategies for using Fed10 eral food dollars to create local and micro-enterprise 

11 development in areas where these nutrition programs 

12 are used; and 

13 (4) to develop a unified strategy to use the Fed14 eral nutrition programs as a tool for economic devel15 opment in food insecure regions, even in regions that 

16 have not traditionally been centers for food produc17 tion where human need is evident. 

18 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Department of Agri20 culture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by insert21 ing after section 220 (7 U.S.C. 6920) the following new 

22 section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 221. OFFICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE. 

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab3 lish within the executive operations of the Department an 

4 office to be known as the Office of Urban Agriculture. 

5 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The Office of Urban Agri7 culture is established for the purpose of coordinating 

8 activities throughout the Department of Agriculture 

9 related to urban agriculture and nutrition. 

10 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Office 

11 of Urban Agriculture shall be responsible for coordi12 nating Department activities and conducting over13 sight in the following mission areas: 

14 ‘‘(A) Ensuring that Department authori15 ties are used to effectively encourage agricul16 tural production in underserved communities to 

17 combat hunger, poor nutrition, obesity, and 

18 food insecurity. 

19 ‘‘(B) Ensuring that Department authori20 ties are used to empower communities, espe21 cially communities with a large percentage of 

22 low-income residents, to eliminate shortages of 

23 affordable, fresh food products, increase the 

24 local production and sale of food, and create 

25 sustainable food systems. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Developing a unified strategy to link 

2 the agricultural production and nutrition pro3 grams administered by the Department as a 

4 tool for economic development in underserved 

5 communities in a manner that addresses local 

6 conditions and engages local residents through 

7 agricultural economic development. 

8 ‘‘(D) Ensuring that nutrition programs ad9 ministered by State agencies maximize the im10 pact of Federal funds in creating local agricul11 tural microenterprises. 

12 ‘‘(E) Conducting systematic and regular 

13 reviews of Department authorities and making 

14 policy recommendations to Congress and the 

15 Secretary on new authorities or regulation 

16 changes to assist underserved communities to 

17 combat hunger, poor nutrition, obesity, and 

18 food insecurity. 

19 ‘‘(F) Ensuring that the programs estab20 lished by the Greening Food Deserts Act and 

21 by amendments made by that Act are imple22 mented in a manner consistent with the goal of 

23 eliminating underserved communities. 

24 ‘‘(c) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY DEFINED.—In this 

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1 ing given that term in section 25(a)(3) of the Food and 

2 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2034(a)(3)).’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 296(b) of 

4 the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 

5 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

7 end; 

8 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at 

9 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol11 lowing new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(8) the responsibility of the Secretary to estab13 lish in the Department the Office of Urban Agri14 culture in accordance with section 226B.’’. 

15 (c) SUFFICIENCY OF RESOURCES FOR OFFICE.—Not 

16 later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

17 the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a 

18 report describing the resources and staff necessary to per19 mit the Office of Urban Agriculture established pursuant 

20 to section 221 of the Department of Agriculture Reorga21 nization Act of 1994, as added by subsection (a), to carry 

22 out its responsibilities under such section. 


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1 SEC. 4. NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION SERVICE 

2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN SUPPORT OF 

3 BACKYARD CONSERVATION AND COMMUNITY 

4 GARDENING PROGRAMS. 

5 Section 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

6 U.S.C. 3842) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(j) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR BACKYARD CON9 SERVATION AND COMMUNITY GARDENING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.— 

11 The Secretary shall provide technical assistance in 

12 support of backyard conservation and community 

13 gardening programs involving small-scale subsistence 

14 and personal-use agriculture for the purpose of— 

15 ‘‘(A) achieving expanded and improved 

16 production; and 

17 ‘‘(B) implementing conservation methods 

18 related to small-scale and personal-use produc19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(2) USE OF BOTANICAL GARDENS.—To pro21 vide technical assistance under this subsection, the 

22 Secretary shall seek to certify botanical gardens as 

23 third-party providers under subsection (e). 

24 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 There is authorized to be appropriated to the SecVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:41 Mar 30, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4971.IH H4971

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1 retary $20,000,000 each fiscal year to carry out this 

2 subsection.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. URBAN FOREST INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) INVESTMENT IN INVASIVE RESISTANT SPE6 CIES.—Section 9(e) of the Cooperative Forestry Assist7 ance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2105(e)) is amended by add8 ing at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘In carrying 

9 out this subsection, the Secretary shall give a priority to 

10 the production and procurement in urban areas of plant 

11 materials that are resistant to invasive species.’’. 

12 (b) CHALLENGE COST-SHARE GRANTS FOR INVASIVE

13 SPECIES CONTROL, MANAGEMENT, AND RECOVERY EF14 FORTS.—Section 9(f) of the Cooperative Forestry Assist15 ance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2105(f)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ‘‘50 

17 percent’’ the following: ‘‘(75 percent in the case of 

18 a project involving invasive species control, manage19 ment, or recovery)’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(3) SET-ASIDE FOR INVASIVE SPECIES CON23 TROL, MANAGEMENT, AND RECOVERY EFFORTS.—Of 

24 the funds made available for a fiscal year for the 

25 challenge cost-share program, the Secretary shall reVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:41 Mar 30, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4971.IH H4971

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1 serve $10,000,000 for projects in urban areas involv2 ing invasive species control, management, or recov3 ery efforts.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. EXTENSION AND ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR SEN5 IORS FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION PRO6 GRAM. 

7 (a) EXTENSION AND FUNDING.—Section 4402(a) of 

8 the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

9 U.S.C. 3007(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agri11 culture shall use funds available to the Commodity Credit 

12 Corporation to carry out and expand a seniors farmers’ 

13 market nutrition program in the following amounts: 

14 ‘‘(1) For fiscal year 2011, not less than 

15 $25,000,000. 

16 ‘‘(2) For fiscal year 2012, not less than 

17 $50,000,000. 

18 ‘‘(3) For fiscal year 2013, not less than 

19 $75,000,000. 

20 ‘‘(4) For each of fiscal years 2014 through 

21 2017, not less than $100,000,000.’’. 

22 (b) PURPOSES.—Section 4402(b)(1) of the Farm Se23 curity and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 

24 3007(b)(1)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘unprepared’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘minimally processed’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘and herbs’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘herbs, and other locally produced farm products, as 

5 the Secretary considers appropriate,’’. 

6 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS; UNEXPENDED

7 FUNDS.—Section 4402 of the Farm Security and Rural 

8 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following new subsections: 

10 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 10 

11 percent of the funds made available for a fiscal year under 

12 subsection (a) may be used to pay administrative costs in13 curred in carrying out this section. 

14 ‘‘(g) UNEXPENDED FUNDS.—To the extent the funds 

15 made available under subsection (a) for a fiscal year are 

16 not expended in that fiscal year, the Secretary may use 

17 such funds in a subsequent fiscal year for the same pur18 pose.’’. 

19 SEC. 7. INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING FOR FARMERS’ MAR20 KETS. 

21 (a) LOANS, LOAN GUARANTEES, AND GRANTS FOR

22 FARMERS’ MARKET EXPANSION.—In addition to assist23 ance provided through the seniors farmers’ market nutri24 tion program under section 4402 of the Farm Security 

25 and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007) to exVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:41 Mar 30, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4971.IH H4971

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1 pand or aid in the expansion of domestic farmers’ mar2 kets, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make loans, pro3 vide loan guarantees, and make grants to public agencies 

4 and nonprofit organizations for— 

5 (1) the construction of new farmers’ markets; 

6 and 

7 (2) the improvement or rehabilitation of exist8 ing farmers’ markets. 

9 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a loan, 

10 loan guarantee, or grant under subsection (a), a public 

11 agency or nonprofit organization involved in the construc12 tion, improvement, or rehabilitation of a farmers’ market 

13 shall— 

14 (1) demonstrate financial need, as determined 

15 by the Secretary; and 

16 (2) commit to reserving at least 50 percent of 

17 the floor area of the farmers’ market for the sale of 

18 products that are produced locally, as determined by 

19 the Secretary, by farmers, ranchers, or aquaculture, 

20 mariculture, or fisheries operators, or by associa21 tions of farmers, ranchers, or such operators. 

22 (c) COST SHARING.— 

23 (1) GRANTS.—The amount of a grant under 

24 subsection (a) shall not exceed 25 percent of the cost 

25 of the activity to be supported by the grant. 


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1 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF COMBINED GRANT

2 AND LOAN.—The combined amount of a grant and 

3 loan made or guaranteed under subsection (a) shall 

4 not exceed 80 percent of the cost of the activity to 

5 be supported by the grant and loan. 

6 (d) INTEREST RATE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A loan made by the Sec8 retary under subsection (a) shall bear interest at the 

9 rate equivalent to the rate of interest charged on 

10 Treasury securities of comparable maturity on the 

11 date the loan is approved. 

12 (2) DURATION.—The interest rate for each loan 

13 will remain in effect for the term of the loan. 

14 (e) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred15 it Corporation, the Secretary shall make available to carry 

16 out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 

17 and 2012. 

18 SEC. 8. EVALUATION OF STATE OF FARMERS’ MARKETS IN 

19 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE. 

20 Section 2(a) of the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997 

21 (7 U.S.C. 2204g(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION OF FARMERS’ MARKETS.—Ef24 fective beginning with the first census of agriculture 

25 conducted after the date of the enactment of the 


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1 Greening Food Deserts Act, the Secretary shall in2 clude as part of each census of agriculture— 

3 ‘‘(A) an evaluation of the state of farmers’ 

4 markets in the United States, including infor5 mation regarding the size, location, operational 

6 capacity, and geographic dispersion of farmers’ 

7 markets and types of products sold (both in 

8 terms of product diversity and sales locations) 

9 through farmers’ markets; and 

10 ‘‘(B) an analysis of the economic impact of 

11 farmers’ markets, including the success of Fed12 eral programs in promoting and supporting 

13 farmers’ markets.’’. 

14 SEC. 9. RENAMING OF RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PRO15 GRAM TO REFLECT PURPOSE OF THE PRO16 GRAM. 

17 Section 9007 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest18 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107), as amended by section 

19 9001 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, 

20 is amended— 

21 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘RURAL

22 ENERGY’’ and inserting ‘‘RENEWABLE ENERGY’’; 

23 and 


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1 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Rural Energy 

2 for America Program’’ and inserting ‘‘Renewable 

3 Energy for America Program’’. 

4 SEC. 10. URBAN AGRICULTURE OUTREACH PROGRAM. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti7 ty’’ means a community organization, municipality, 

8 institution of higher education, or nonprofit organi9 zation. 

10 (2) FOOD PRODUCTION.—The term ‘‘food pro11 duction’’ includes— 

12 (A) the implementation of small scale, or13 ganic, aquiculture, and such other urban pro14 duction models as the Secretary of Agriculture 

15 considers appropriate; 

16 (B) the deployment of food infrastructure 

17 in an underserved community; 

18 (C) the conversion of vacant land into ani19 mal and plant food production areas; 

20 (D) the creation of infrastructure for com21 munity gardens; 

22 (E) education regarding small-scale sub23 sistence and personal-use agriculture; and 

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1 nities not traditionally associated with agricul2 tural production. 

3 (3) MICROLOAN OR GRANT.—The term 

4 ‘‘microloan or grant’’ means a business loan or 

5 grant of not more than $25,000. 

6 (4) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 

7 ‘‘underserved community’’ has the meaning given 

8 that term in section 25(a)(3) of the Food and Nutri9 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2034(a)(3)). 

10 (b) MICROLOANS AND GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The 

11 Secretary of Agriculture may make a microloan or grant 

12 available to an eligible entity to support outreach activities 

13 for— 

14 (1) developing food production in communities 

15 not traditionally associated with agricultural produc16 tion; and 

17 (2) supporting the local distribution of food 

18 products derived from the food production activities. 

19 (c) LOAN TERMS.—A microloan made by the Sec20 retary under this section shall— 

21 (1) be for a term not to exceed three years; and 

22 (2) bear an annual interest rate not to exceed 

23 Treasury bearing rates. 

24 (d) DEFERRAL OF INTEREST AND PRINCIPAL.—The 

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1 cipal and interest due on a microloan made under this sec2 tion for a two-year period beginning on the date the loan 

3 is made. 

4 (e) GRANT COST SHARING REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 (1) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

6 shall require an eligible entity receiving a grant 

7 under this section to match not less than 10 percent 

8 of the total amount of the grant. 

9 (2) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The 

10 matching requirement may be satisfied through the 

11 provision of— 

12 (A) cash (including through fees, grants 

13 (including community development block 

14 grants), and gifts); or 

15 (B) in-kind contributions acceptable to the 

16 Secretary. 

17 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

19 out this section $20,000,000 for each fiscal year. 


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1 SEC. 11. PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION PRO2 GRAMS IN SCHOOLS BY AUTHORIZING HIGH3 ER REIMBURSEMENT RATES UNDER SCHOOL 

4 LUNCH, SCHOOL BREAKFAST, AND SUMMER 

5 FOOD SERVICE PROGRAMS. 

6 (a) SCHOOL LUNCH.—Section 8 of the Richard B. 

7 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1757) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(h) The maximum per meal reimbursement rate oth11 erwise applicable to a school shall be increased by 20 per12 cent in the case of any meals consisting in whole or part 

13 of foods produced through agricultural education pro14 grams that use enrolled students to produce food and pro15 vide the food to in-house feeding programs. Agricultural 

16 education programs include after-school programs in gar17 dening or agriculture production, agricultural internships 

18 teaching practical agricultural activities, and other school 

19 activities associated with food production, processing, and 

20 preparation.’’. 

21 (b) SCHOOL BREAKFAST.—Section 4 of the Child 

22 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) is amended by 

23 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(f) HIGHER REIMBURSEMENT RATE FOR IN-HOUSE

25 FOOD PRODUCTION.—The maximum meal reimbursement 

26 rate otherwise applicable to a school shall be increased by 


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1 20 percent in the case of any breakfasts consisting in 

2 whole or part of foods produced through agricultural edu3 cation programs that use enrolled students to produce 

4 food and provide the food to in-house feeding programs. 

5 Agricultural education programs include after-school pro6 grams in gardening or agriculture production, agricultural 

7 internships teaching practical agricultural activities, and 

8 other school activities associated with food production, 

9 processing, and preparation.’’. 

10 (c) SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM.—Section 

11 13(b)(1)(C) of the Richard B. Russell National School 

12 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(b)(1)(C)) is amended by add13 ing at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘If the service 

14 institution continues during the summer or school vaca15 tion an agricultural education program for which the serv16 ice institution received a higher reimbursement rate under 

17 section 8(h) of this Act or section 4(f) of the Child Nutri18 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773(f)), the higher rate shall 

19 continue to apply to the service institution under this sec20 tion.’’. 


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•HR 4971 IH

1 SEC. 12. SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PRO2 GRAM PILOT PROGRAM OF LOCAL SUSTAIN3 ABILITY GRANTS. 

4 The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 is amended by 

5 inserting after section 25 (7 U.S.C. 2034) the following 

6 new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 25A. PILOT PROGRAM OF LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY 

8 GRANTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts made 

10 available to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 

11 make eight grants each fiscal year to regional food banks 

12 or consortiums of community feeding programs to carry 

13 out a demonstration project for the purpose of— 

14 ‘‘(1) producing fresh fruits and vegetables at 

15 these facilities while teaching eligible households how 

16 to engage in small-scale food production residentially 

17 or at community gardens; 

18 ‘‘(2) integrating processing and distribution of 

19 the produced fresh fruits and vegetables; and 

20 ‘‘(3) providing an increased benefit under sub21 section (c) for eligible households procuring the pro22 duced fresh fruits and vegetables at these facilities. 

23 ‘‘(b) GRANT LIMITS.—The total amount of funds 

24 provided as grants to a single recipient under this section 

25 for a fiscal year may not exceed $300,000. 


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25 

•HR 4971 IH

1 ‘‘(c) INCREASED BENEFITS.—Eligible households 

2 participating in the pilot program shall be eligible to re3 ceive 120 percent of the value of the supplemental nutri4 tion assistance that would otherwise be provided to the 

5 household under this Act when purchasing food that was 

6 produced through the program. 

7 ‘‘(d) GRANT COST SHARING REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condi9 tion of any grant made under this section, the Sec10 retary shall require the grant recipient to match not 

11 less than five percent of the total amount of the 

12 grant. 

13 ‘‘(2) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The 

14 matching requirement may be satisfied through the 

15 provision of— 

16 ‘‘(A) cash (including through fees, grants 

17 (including community development block 

18 grants), and gifts); or 

19 ‘‘(B) in-kind contributions acceptable to 

20 the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

23 out this section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 

24 through 2015.’’. 

Æ 


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