I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3225 

To promote and enhance community agricultural production and technology 

in nontraditional communities through the establishment of a new office 

in the Department of Agriculture to ensure that Department authorities 

are coordinated more effectively to encourage local agricultural production and increase the availability of fresh food in nontraditional communities, particularly underserved communities experiencing hunger, poor 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 14, 2011 

Ms. KAPTUR (for herself, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Ms. MOORE, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 

RICHARDSON, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To promote and enhance community agricultural production 

and technology in nontraditional communities through 

the establishment of a new office in the Department 

of Agriculture to ensure that Department authorities are 

coordinated more effectively to encourage local agricultural production and increase the availability of fresh 

food in nontraditional communities, particularly underserved communities experiencing hunger, poor nutrition, 

obesity, and food insecurity, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Community Agriculture Development and Jobs 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 purpose. 

Sec. 3. Office of Community Agriculture. 

Sec. 4. Community agriculture outreach program. 

Sec. 5. Farmer-to-consumer direct marketing. 

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

Sec. 7. Community agriculture research and improved agricultural reporting. 

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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 and lack of affordable food prices impact 

14 large segments of the country’s population. 

15 (2) Demographic changes have opened pockets 

16 of arable land for agriculture in America’s cities. 

17 (3) Diversifying United States food production 

18 from a globally consolidated and industrial food 

19 chain to one which includes local production rep20 resents an important opportunity to strengthen 

21 United States agriculture. 


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1 (4) With poverty rising due to chronic unem2 ployment and with food becoming a more significant 

3 component of family budgets, local production be4 comes an important option for families facing food 

5 insecurity. 

6 (5) It is estimated that 18.5 percent of Amer7 ican households have refrained from making nec8 essary food purchases due to economic cir9 cumstances, and many of these households reside in 

10 ethnically and racially diverse communities. 

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

12 hypertension, diabetes and youth osteoporosis are 

13 caused by improper nutrition in food deserts without 

14 nutritious, reliable, and locally available healthy food 

15 options. 

16 (7) Advances in agricultural practices makes 

17 production possible in regions previously cordoned 

18 off from such opportunity. 

19 (8) With studies suggesting that much of the 

20 American west is becoming permanently more arid 

21 and 40 percent of all fresh water resources in the 

22 United States are used for irrigation, the need for 

23 more efficient food production and agriculture closer 

24 to point of consumption is critical. 


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1 (9) Concentration in agricultural production 

2 and outsourcing have exacerbated the food insecurity 

3 of many communities. 

4 (10) In 2009, the Economic Research Service of 

5 the Department of Agriculture reported that 2.4 mil6 lion households live more than a mile from a super7 market and do not have access to a motor vehicle. 

8 (11) Because these Americans are without ac9 cess to a motor vehicle with which to reach super10 markets located more than a mile away from their 

11 homes, and there is no accessible local farm produc12 tion, vast segments of communities are now de13 scribed as ‘‘food deserts’’. 

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

15 have little knowledge of simple agricultural practices 

16 and the benefits of a diet that includes the consump17 tion of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

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

19 seven hundred ninety-two farms were in operation in 

20 2007, including 300,000 new farms that began oper21 ations with smaller less consolidated operations and 

22 lower sales than the average of all farms nationwide. 

23 (14) Rising fuel costs make transporting food 

24 long distances significantly more expensive, but creVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:23 Oct 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3225.IH H3225

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1 ate opportunities for the economical production of 

2 food closer to point of consumption. 

3 (15) From 1999 to 2010, the value of imported 

4 food products to the United States increased over 

5 100 percent from $40,700,000,000 to 

6 $86,100,000,000, which has led to a growing reli7 ance on foreign-produced food, particularly during 

8 cold seasons, as diminished options exist for locally 

9 produced fresh and affordable choices. 

10 (16) Expanding production and access to locally 

11 produced food strengthens the vital link between 

12 healthy populations, sustainable living, and the nat13 ural world. 

14 (17) According to the Centers for Disease Con15 trol and Prevention, direct and indirect medical 

16 costs associated with obesity and diabetes in the 

17 United States are more than $300 billion. 

18 (18) Expanding access to food for populations 

19 that suffer from shortages of nutritious food involves 

20 regional food production in communities where the 

21 link between daily life and the environment has been 

22 all but eliminated. 

23 (19) Many tools exist to empower communities 

24 toward local food production to break the cycle of 

25 food insecurity: For example, by the end of World 


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1 War II, over 20,000,000 home gardens were sup2 plying 40 percent of domestically consumed produce. 

3 (20) There was a 16-percent increase in the 

4 number of operating farmers markets in the United 

5 States between 2009 to 2010 according to the Agri6 cultural Marketing Service of the Department of Ag7 riculture. 

8 (21) Promoting the many different forms of ag9 riculture, both consolidated, industrial agriculture 

10 and small scale, decentralized agriculture, is bene11 ficial to serving many different needs in a diverse so12 ciety. 

13 (22) In 2007, 247,772 farms harvested 

14 39,259,592 acres of specialty crops and produced 

15 $67,417,397,000 worth of food products, which, if 

16 expanded to include production in food deserts 

17 across the country, has the potential to provide in18 vestment and improved nutrition to communities and 

19 reinvent landscapes that lack sufficient access to 

20 food. 

21 (23) In the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

22 Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–246), Congress pro23 vided the Department of Agriculture with sufficient 

24 flexibility in implementing certain programs to pro25 mote locally based agricultural enterprises, including 


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

2 program for underserved communities, significant 

3 increases for the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition 

4 Program that links local producers and consumers, 

5 an expanded authorization for the Farm to School 

6 Program, and new legal requirements allowing flexi7 bility in local purchase by some nutrition programs. 

8 (b) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Con9 gress— 

10 (1) to establish and augment authorities to en11 gage in local community agricultural production, 

12 combat food insecurity, and reduce the United 

13 States reliance on imported agricultural products; 

14 (2) to pursue better coordination to empower 

15 communities and their residents to engage in com16 munity agriculture, purchase and produce food lo17 cally, create sustainable food systems, and better 

18 connect the existing programs that can and should 

19 be used to alleviate pockets of hunger and severe 

20 food insecurity; 

21 (3) to work with the various State agencies re22 sponsible for administering the Federal nutrition 

23 programs on methods and strategies for using Fed24 eral food dollars to create local food production platVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:23 Oct 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3225.IH H3225

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1 forms and micro-enterprise development in areas 

2 where these nutrition programs are accessed; and 

3 (4) to develop a unified strategy toward greater 

4 self-sufficiency by using Federal nutrition programs 

5 as a tool for economic development in communities, 

6 even in regions that have not traditionally been cen7 ters for food production where human need is evi8 dent. 

9 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Department of Agri11 culture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by insert12 ing after section 220 (7 U.S.C. 6920) the following new 

13 section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 221. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE. 

15 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab16 lish within the executive operations of the Department an 

17 office to be known as the Office of Community Agri18 culture. 

19 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office of Community Agri20 culture shall be headed by a Director, to be appointed by 

21 the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The Office of Community Ag24 riculture is established for the purpose of coordi25 nating activities throughout the Department of AgriVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:23 Oct 15, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3225.IH H3225

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1 culture related to promoting and enhancing agri2 culture in nontraditional communities and improving 

3 nutrition in such communities. 

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

5 of Community Agriculture shall be responsible for 

6 coordinating Department activities and conducting 

7 oversight in the following mission areas: 

8 ‘‘(A) Ensuring that Department authori9 ties are used to promote and enhance agricul10 tural production in nontraditional communities. 

11 ‘‘(B) Ensuring that Department authori12 ties are used to support educational and train13 ing initiatives related to best agricultural prac14 tices in nontraditional communities. 

15 ‘‘(C) Ensuring that Department authori16 ties are used to combat hunger, poor nutrition, 

17 obesity and food insecurity in nontraditional 

18 communities. 

19 ‘‘(D) Ensuring that Department authori20 ties are used to support eliminating shortages 

21 of affordable fresh food products in nontradi22 tional communities. 

23 ‘‘(E) Ensuring that Department authori24 ties are used to support educational initiatives 


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1 promoting the consumption of locally produced 

2 foods and the nutritional benefits of such foods. 

3 ‘‘(F) Ensuring that Department authori4 ties are used to strengthen local food systems 

5 and support sustainable food systems in non6 traditional communities. 

7 ‘‘(G) Ensuring that Department resources 

8 and programs provide sufficient consideration 

9 to the needs of low-income and high unemploy10 ment communities. 

11 ‘‘(H) Ensuring that Federal nutrition as12 sistance programs administered by State agen13 cies maximize the impact of Federal funds to 

14 support promoting and enhancing agricultural 

15 production including consumption of locally pro16 duced foods in nontraditional communities. 

17 ‘‘(I) Developing a strategy to ensure that 

18 Federal nutrition assistance programs (includ19 ing those programs administered by State agen20 cies) are used to support economic development 

21 and agricultural production in nontraditional 

22 communities. 

23 ‘‘(J) Make policy recommendations to the 

24 Secretary without modification related to com25 plying with subparagraphs (A) through (I). 


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1 ‘‘(d) COOPERATION AND COORDINATION.—The Di2 rector of the Office of Community Agriculture may assist 

3 or take the lead in coordinating cooperative efforts regard4 ing any of the duties specified in subsection (c), including 

5 communication with other Federal agencies related to 

6 such duties. 

7 ‘‘(e) NONTRADITIONAL COMMUNITY DEFINED.—In 

8 this section, the term ‘nontraditional community’ means 

9 a community or area— 

10 ‘‘(1) where there is limited or no agricultural 

11 production; and 

12 ‘‘(2) that is not engaged in traditional agricul13 tural production.’’. 

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

15 the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 

16 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended— 

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

18 end; 

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

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

21 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol22 lowing new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(8) the responsibility of the Secretary to estab24 lish in the Department the Office of Community Ag25 riculture in accordance with section 226B.’’. 


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

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

3 the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a 

4 report describing the resources and staff necessary to per5 mit the Office of Community Agriculture established pur6 suant to section 221 of the Department of Agriculture Re7 organization Act of 1994, as added by subsection (a), to 

8 carry out its responsibilities under such section. 

9 SEC. 4. COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE OUTREACH PROGRAM. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti12 ty’’ means a community organization, municipality, 

13 institution of higher education, local school district, 

14 or nonprofit organization. 

15 (2) NONTRADITIONAL COMMUNITY.—The term 

16 ‘‘nontraditional community’’ means a community or 

17 area where there is limited or no agricultural pro18 duction and that is not engaged in traditional agri19 cultural production. 

20 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Agri21 culture may make a grant available for a 3-year period 

22 (in such annual amounts as the Secretary determines to 

23 be appropriate) to an eligible entity to support outreach 

24 activities for any of the following: 


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1 (1) Initiatives, including responding to infra2 structure needs, that encourage the production of 

3 local foods in nontraditional communities. 

4 (2) Initiatives, including responding to infra5 structure needs, to strengthen local food distribution 

6 systems in nontraditional communities. 

7 (3) Initiatives, including responding to infra8 structure needs, designed to create sustainable food 

9 systems in nontraditional communities. 

10 (4) Initiatives, including responding to infra11 structure needs, that create or expand the opportu12 nities to consume fresh fruits and vegetables in non13 traditional communities. 

14 (5) Initiatives, including responding to infra15 structure needs, that promote agricultural proc16 essing in nontraditional communities. 

17 (6) Initiatives, including responding to infra18 structure needs, that encourage recipients of Federal 

19 and State domestic food assistance programs to pur20 chase locally grown or produced foods in nontradi21 tional communities. 

22 (7) Education and training related to best prac23 tices for agricultural production in nontraditional 

24 communities. 


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1 (8) Education initiatives that promote the nu2 tritional benefits of consuming locally produced 

3 foods in nontraditional communities. 

4 (9) The conversion, including purchase and ac5 quisition, of vacant land to be used for agricultural 

6 production in nontraditional communities. 

7 (10) Other activities that promote economic de8 velopment through agricultural production in non9 traditional communities. 

10 (c) GRANT LIMITATION.—The amount of a grant 

11 made under this section shall not exceed $500,000. 

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

14 $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2013 and each fiscal year 

15 thereafter to carry out this section. 

16 SEC. 5. FARMER-TO-CONSUMER DIRECT MARKETING. 

17 Section 6 of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Mar18 keting Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 3005) is amended to read 

19 as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF THE FARMERS’ MARKET PRO21 MOTION PROGRAM. 

22 ‘‘(a) LOANS, LOAN GUARANTEES, AND GRANTS FOR

23 FARMERS’ MARKET EXPANSION.—In addition to assist24 ance provided through the seniors farmers’ market nutri25 tion program under section 4402 of the Farm Security 


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1 and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007) to ex2 pand or aid in the expansion of domestic farmers’ mar3 kets, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make loans, pro4 vide loan guarantees, and make grants for— 

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

6 ‘‘(2) the improvement or rehabilitation of exist7 ing farmers’ markets; 

8 ‘‘(3) the acquisition of equipment for farmers’ 

9 markets and other infrastructure needs; 

10 ‘‘(4) purchase, acquisition, and rehabilitation of 

11 land or property for use as a farmers’ market; 

12 ‘‘(5) agri-tourism initiatives; 

13 ‘‘(6) marketing and advertising; 

14 ‘‘(7) transportation and delivery; 

15 ‘‘(8) education and outreach and activities to 

16 encourage farmers’ markets participation in Federal 

17 and State food and nutrition assistance programs; 

18 ‘‘(9) business development and management, in19 cluding professional development; 

20 ‘‘(10) establishing satellite locations of existing 

21 farmers’ markets designed to increase sales in areas 

22 not easily accessible through traditional transpor23 tation; and 

24 ‘‘(11) planning and feasibility initiatives for 

25 new or expanding farmers’ markets. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY AND PRIORITY.— 

2 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) To be eligible to receive a loan, loan 

4 guarantee, or grant under subsection (a), the 

5 applicant must— 

6 ‘‘(i) be a public agency, nonprofit or7 ganization, farmers’ market operator, or 

8 such other entity as the Secretary may au9 thorize; 

10 ‘‘(ii) demonstrate financial need, as 

11 determined by the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) commit to reserving at least 50 

13 percent of the floor area of the farmers’ 

14 market for the sale of food products that 

15 are produced locally, as determined by the 

16 Secretary, by farmers, ranchers, or aqua17 culture, mariculture, or fisheries operators, 

18 or by associations of farmers, ranchers, or 

19 such operators. 

20 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—For purposes of this section, 

21 the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 

22 located in areas where there is limited or no agricul23 tural production and that are not engaged in tradi24 tional agricultural production. 

25 ‘‘(c) INTEREST RATE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A loan made by the Sec2 retary under subsection (a) shall bear interest at the 

3 rate equivalent to the rate of interest charged on 

4 Treasury securities of comparable maturity on the 

5 date the loan is approved. 

6 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—The interest rate for each 

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

8 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

9 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make available to 

10 carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

11 years 2013 through 2018. At least 50 percent of the funds 

12 made available under this subsection shall be provided to 

13 eligible entities in the form of grants, and not more than 

14 $5,000,000 may be used to provide technical assistance 

15 and cover administrative costs.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF AND ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR 

17 SENIORS FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION 

18 PROGRAM. 

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

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

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

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agri23 culture shall use funds available to the Commodity Credit 

24 Corporation to carry out and expand a seniors farmers’ 

25 market nutrition program in the following amounts: 


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1 ‘‘(1) For fiscal year 2013, $25,000,000. 

2 ‘‘(2) For fiscal year 2014, $50,000,000. 

3 ‘‘(3) For fiscal year 2015, $75,000,000. 

4 ‘‘(4) For each of fiscal years 2016 through 

5 2018, $100,000,000.’’. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.—Section 4402(b)(1) of the Farm Se7 curity and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 

8 3007(b)(1)) is amended— 

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

10 ‘‘minimally processed’’; and 

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

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

13 the Secretary considers appropriate,’’. 

14 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS; UNEXPENDED

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

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

17 adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 10 

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

20 subsection (a) may be used to pay administrative costs in21 curred in carrying out this section. 

22 ‘‘(i) UNEXPENDED FUNDS.—To the extent the funds 

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

24 not expended in that fiscal year, the Secretary shall use 


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1 such funds in a subsequent fiscal year for the same pur2 pose. 

3 ‘‘(j) PRIORITY.—In providing funds made available 

4 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to— 

5 ‘‘(1) communities or areas where there is lim6 ited or no agricultural production and that are not 

7 engaged in traditional agricultural production; and 

8 ‘‘(2) farmers’ markets that have an operational 

9 seniors farmers’ market program.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND IM11 PROVED AGRICULTURAL REPORTING. 

12 (a) EVALUATION OF FARMERS’ MARKETS IN CENSUS

13 OF AGRICULTURE.—Section 2(a) of the Census of Agri14 culture Act of 1997 (7 U.S.C. 2204g(a)) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION OF FARMERS’ MARKETS.—Ef17 fective beginning with the first census of agriculture 

18 conducted after the date of the enactment of the 

19 Community Agriculture Development and Jobs Act, 

20 the Secretary shall include as part of each census of 

21 agriculture— 

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

23 markets in the United States, including infor24 mation regarding the size, location, operational 

25 capacity, and geographic dispersion of farmers’ 


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1 markets and types of food products sold (both 

2 in terms of product diversity and sales loca3 tions) through farmers’ markets; and 

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

5 farmers’ markets, including the success of Fed6 eral programs in promoting and supporting 

7 farmers’ markets.’’. 

8 (b) COORDINATED ANNUAL REPORT ON FARMERS’ 

9 MARKETS.—Beginning on the date that is 90 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act and each year there11 after, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Con12 gress and electronically publish a report on the status of 

13 farmers’ markets in the United States. Such report shall 

14 include with respect to farmers’ markets in the United 

15 States for each year, the following information: 

16 (1) The number of farmers’ markets. 

17 (2) The number of farmers’ markets established 

18 during such year except that for the first year a re19 port is submitted under this section, the report shall 

20 include the number of farmers’ markets for the five 

21 years immediately preceding the first reporting year. 

22 (3) The economic value of an average farmers’ 

23 market. 

24 (4) The type of governmental assistance pro25 vided to farmers’ markets. 


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1 (5) The products that are typically sold at 

2 farmers’ markets. 

3 (6) The number of farmers’ markets that ac4 cept as a form of payment benefits distributed 

5 through— 

6 (A) the supplemental nutrition assistance 

7 program established under the Food and Nutri8 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 

9 (B) the seniors farmers’ market nutrition 

10 program established under section 4402 of the 

11 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 

12 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007); 

13 (C) the special supplemental nutrition pro14 gram for women, infants, and children estab15 lished under section 17 of the Child Nutrition 

16 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); and 

17 (D) any other Federal or State nutrition 

18 assistance program as determined appropriate 

19 by the Secretary. 

20 (7) The methods through which farmers’ mar21 kets process the forms of payment described in para22 graph (6). 

23 (8) The average income of a farmers’ market 

24 operator. 


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1 (9) The average profit of a farmers’ market op2 erator. 

3 (10) The average expense of a farmers’ market 

4 operator. 

5 (11) Other occupations of operators of farmers’ 

6 markets. 

7 (12) The percentage of food at farmers’ mar8 kets that is locally produced. 

9 (13) Any other information related to farmers’ 

10 markets in the United States that the Secretary de11 termines is important to promote and enhance the 

12 use of farmers’ markets. 

13 (c) REPORT ON AWARD OF CONTRACTS FOR FOOD

14 ASSISTANCE.—Beginning on the date that is 90 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act and each year there16 after, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit a report 

17 to Congress describing— 

18 (1) how contracts are awarded for Federal food 

19 assistance programs, including the school lunch pro20 gram under the Richard B. Russell National School 

21 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), the school 

22 breakfast program under the Child Nutrition Act of 

23 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), the summer food 

24 service program for children under section 13 of the 

25 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 


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1 U.S.C. 1761), and other relevant food assistance 

2 programs; and 

3 (2) whether the food products made available 

4 under such contracts are locally grown or locally 

5 raised or processed. 

6 (d) REPORT ON EXPENDITURES FOR DOMESTIC NU7 TRITION SERVICES.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act and not later than 90 

9 days after the end of each fiscal year thereafter, the Sec10 retary of Agriculture shall submit a report to Congress 

11 (and make such report publicly available electronically) 

12 identifying the number of recipients and Federal and 

13 State dollars spent in the United States, and in each 

14 State, county, and congressional district, through all the 

15 domestic food assistance programs administered by the 

16 Department of Agriculture during the preceding fiscal 

17 year. 

18 (e) REPORT ON STATUS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUC19 TION IN NONTRADITIONAL COMMUNITIES.—Not later 

20 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 

21 and not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal 

22 year thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit 

23 a report to Congress (and make such report publicly avail24 able electronically) on the status of agricultural production 


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1 in nontraditional communities (as defined in section 4). 

2 At a minimum, the report shall include— 

3 (1) the percent of the Nation’s food production 

4 in nontraditional communities; 

5 (2) the economic value of agriculture in non6 traditional communities; 

7 (3) the most popular type of agricultural activ8 ity in nontraditional communities; 

9 (4) the recent best practices on agricultural 

10 production in nontraditional communities; 

11 (5) the type of agricultural products marketed 

12 and sold in nontraditional communities; 

13 (6) the progress made strengthening local food 

14 systems in nontraditional communities; 

15 (7) an analysis of local government regulations, 

16 including zoning, that have supported or could sup17 port sustainable agricultural production in nontradi18 tional communities; and 

19 (8) recommendations on how to further agricul20 tural production in nontraditional communities. 

21 (f) ALTERNATIVE SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT.—If a 

22 report required by subsection (d) or (e) for a fiscal year 

23 is not submitted by the Secretary of Agriculture before 

24 the deadline specified in the subsection, the Director of 

25 the Office of Community Agriculture shall prepare and 


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1 submit the report to Congress within 90 days after the 

2 deadline without modification by the Secretary. 

3 (g) PERFORMANCE GOALS.—The Secretary of Agri4 culture shall incorporate promoting and enhancing agri5 cultural production in nontraditional communities (as de6 fined in section 4) into Department of Agriculture per7 formance goals pursuant to sections 1115 and 1116 of 

8 title 31 of the United States Code. 

9 (h) COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE RESEARCH INITIA10 TIVE.— 

11 (1) The Secretary of Agriculture shall carry out 

12 a community agriculture research initiative that fo13 cuses on doing scientific research on the needs of 

14 promoting and enhancing agricultural production in 

15 nontraditional communities (as defined in section 4). 

16 Research should include, but not be limited to, im17 proving production efficiency, production, and profit18 ability, including— 

19 (A) marketing new innovations and tech20 nologies; 

21 (B) methods to protect production from 

22 pest and diseases; 

23 (C) methods to enhance food safety related 

24 to production; and 


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26 

•HR 3225 IH

1 (D) other areas deemed appropriate by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 (2) The Secretary shall submit a report to Con4 gress (and make such report publicly available elec5 tronically) summarizing such research. 

6 (3) Of the funds available to the Commodity 

7 Credit Corporation, $20,000,000 shall be made 

8 available to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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