Farmers Feeding Families Act of 2022

To amend the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to provide additional agricultural products for distribution by emergency feeding organizations; and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Farmers Feeding Families Act of 2022 2. Amendments (a) Purchase of priority agricultural products Section 203D of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 ( 7 U.S.C. 7507 (1) in subsection (a) by inserting or that State agencies purchase using funds made available under subsection (d), distribution, (2) in subsection (b) by inserting or purchased donated (3) by striking subsection (c), (4) in subsection (d)— (A) by striking (d) (c) (B) in paragraph (2)— (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) subparagraph (B) (ii) by striking subparagraph (B), and (iii) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B), and (5) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: (d) Projects for States To purchase certain commodities from eligible entities (1) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Project The term project (B) Priority agricultural product The term priority agricultural product (C) Eligible entity The term eligible entity (i) is— (I) underserved, including women-owned or veteran-owned; or (II) composed of, or sources agricultural products from, beginning farmers, or small or mid-sized farms that are structured as family farms; and (ii) can deliver the priority agricultural products to emergency feeding organizations selected by the State as being most in need of the products; and (iii) that is committed to serving local communities and forging strong relationships with emergency feeding organizations, public agencies, and Tribal governments through a project, as determined by the State. (2) Federal funding for projects (A) In general Subject to subparagraph (C) and paragraph (4), using funds made available under paragraph (5), the Secretary may provide funds to States to pay for the costs of carrying out a project. (B) Guidance Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue guidance to States— (i) to carry out this section; (ii) to inform States of their allocations under paragraph (3); (iii) to encourage States to partner with a wide range of emergency feeding organizations, including those that face barriers to entry to participating in existing Department of Agriculture nutrition programs; and (iv) to inform States of public reporting requirements and minimum project performance standards, as developed by the Secretary. (C) Allocation (i) Eligibility for allocation The Secretary shall allocate funds made available under paragraph (5) based on the formula in effect under section 214(a), among States that submit a State plan of operation for a project that includes— (I) a list of eligible entities and emergency feeding organizations in the State that will operate the project in partnership with the State agency; (II) at the option of the State, a list of priority agricultural products located in the State that are available for purchase and transport to emergency feeding organizations to identify which foods may be included in the project; (III) a time line of when the project will begin operating; and (IV) a plan to comply with the standards set out in subparagraph (B)(iv). (ii) Reallocation If the Secretary determines that a State will not expend all the funds allocated to the State under clause (i), the Secretary shall reallocate the unexpended funds to other eligible States. (iii) Report Each State that receives funds allocated under this subparagraph shall submit to the Secretary financial reports on a regular basis describing the use of the funds. (3) Project purposes A State may only use Federal funds received under paragraph (2) for a project the purposes of which are— (A) to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency; (B) to provide food to individuals in need; and (C) to build relationships between the State, eligible entities and emergency feeding organizations through the purchase of food. (4) Cooperative agreements (A) In general A State agency that carries out a project using Federal funds received under this subsection may enter into cooperative agreements with State agencies of other States under section 203B(d) to maximize the use of commodities purchased under the project. (B) Submission Not later than 15 days after entering into a cooperative agreement under clause (i), a State agency shall submit such agreement to the Secretary. (5) Funding Out of funds not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until the end of the respective subsequent fiscal year. (6) Reporting Not later than 4 years after the effective date of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee of Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report containing— (A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of this subsection in providing nutritious food to individuals in need, improving agricultural supply chain resiliency, and expanding economic opportunity for eligible entities; and (B) recommendations for the implementation of this subsection to improve nutrition outcomes. . (b) Conforming amendment Section 202A(b)(5) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 ( 7 U.S.C. 7503(b)(5) donated commodities received under section 203D(d) commodities donated under subsection (c), or purchased under subsection (d), of section 203D 3. State Plan Section 202A(b)(4)(A) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 ( 7 U.S.C. 7503(b)(4)(A) , including at a minimum all individuals or households with an income less than 250 percent of the poverty line . 4. Intradepartmental coordination (a) Working group The Secretary of Agriculture shall create a cross-agency working group within the office of the Secretary to work with relevant agencies and organizations of the Department of Agriculture and with stakeholders to review and reconsider how all Department procurement of priority agricultural products can be directed to support a wider range of agricultural producers and agricultural product distributors in a manner that meets the Department’s overarching goals of nutrition security, resilient local and regional food systems, rural job creation, and reversal of the concentration of the ownership of the resources for the production and distribution of agricultural products. (b) Annual report The working group established under subsection (a) shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, an annual report describing the working group’s accomplishments, suggestions, and recommendations for administrative actions and proposed legislation relating to the activities of such group under such subsection.

Summary: Farmers Feeding Families Act of 2022 This bill amends The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to authorize the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to provide funds for states to purchase priority agricultural products (e.g., fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains) from eligible small businesses and distribute them to needy persons through emergency feeding organizations. New farmers and small or mid-sized family farms qualify as eligible small businesses under this FNS program, as well as packers, distributors, cooperatives, and others that source agricultural products from them. The bill also requires a state's TEFAP plan eligibility standards to include, at a minimum, all individuals or households with an income less than 250% of the poverty line.