I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5412 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants 
to assist in the establishment and operation of healthy food pharmacies, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 
Mrs. SYKES (for herself, Ms. DE LA CRUZ, and Ms. BYNUM) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
to make grants to assist in the establishment and oper-
ation of healthy food pharmacies, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food Farmacy Act 
of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDING. 
Congress finds that the goal of healthy food phar-
macies (also known as ‘‘food farmacies’’) is to improve the 
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health outcomes of their patrons by expanding access to 
nutritious foods and providing nutritional guidance. 
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR HEALTHY FOOD PHARMACIES. 
Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 320C. GRANTS FOR HEALTHY FOOD PHARMACIES. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, 
may make grants to eligible entities to assist in the estab-
lishment and operation of healthy food pharmacies. 
‘‘(b) USE OF GRANTS.—A grant received by an eligi-
ble entity under this section shall be used for costs related 
to— 
‘‘(1) construction, conversion, or renovation of a 
healthy food pharmacy; 
‘‘(2) the acquisition of equipment for a healthy 
food pharmacy, including for a mobile food phar-
macy; 
‘‘(3) staffing to operate a healthy food phar-
macy and help connect patients to other programs 
that support health outcomes and combat food inse-
curity; and 
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‘‘(4) the acquisition of food and materials nec-
essary for food distribution by a healthy food phar-
macy. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.— 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The following enti-
ties shall be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section: 
‘‘(A) A non-profit qualified health care 
provider. 
‘‘(B) A State or local government entity. 
‘‘(C) A Tribal organization. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE HEALTHY FOOD PHARMACIES.— 
The Secretary may make a grant under this section 
with respect to a healthy food pharmacy if the 
healthy food pharmacy— 
‘‘(A) offers a range of services to its pa-
trons, including access to healthy foods and nu-
tritional guidance from a qualified health care 
professional; 
‘‘(B) is operated in a manner that 
prioritizes the provision of services to commu-
nities that are low income, rural, or facing food 
insecurity (as such terms may be defined by the 
Secretary); 
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‘‘(C) provides food and nutritional guid-
ance free of charge to individuals receiving ben-
efits under Medicaid or the Supplemental Nu-
trition Assistance Program; and 
‘‘(D) is operated in a manner that sup-
ports the ‘Food is Medicine’ initiative of the 
Department of Health and Human Services. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 
this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 
Secretary an application at such time, in such man-
ner, and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(2) PLAN FOR CONTINUATION OF GRANT AC-
TIVITIES.—As part of such an application, the Sec-
retary shall require an eligible entity to submit a 
plan for continuing to carry out activities described 
in subsection (b) after the eligible entity is no longer 
receiving grant funds under this section, including a 
plan to retain staff hired using the grant funds. 
‘‘(e) PARTNERSHIPS.—An eligible entity that receives 
a grant under this section may carry out activities using 
the amounts of the grant in partnership with other organi-
zations seeking to reduce food insecurity and improve 
health outcomes. 
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‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON GRANT AMOUNTS.—The Sec-
retary may not award to an eligible entity more than 
$500,000 in grants under this section for a fiscal year. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE CERTAIN REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The Secretary may waive requirements of title 
XI of the Social Security Act as may be necessary solely 
for the purposes of carrying out a program under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(h) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.—The Secretary 
may make a grant to an eligible entity under this 
section with respect to a healthy food pharmacy only 
if the eligible entity agrees to submit to the Sec-
retary, on an annual basis for such period as the 
Secretary may prescribe, a report on the effective-
ness of the activities funded with the amounts of the 
grant, including a description of— 
‘‘(A) the number of patrons served by the 
healthy food pharmacy; 
‘‘(B) the health needs of such patrons; 
‘‘(C) the repeated use of the healthy food 
pharmacy by such patrons; 
‘‘(D) the reported health outcomes of such 
patrons; 
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‘‘(E) the types of food acquired by such 
patrons from the healthy food pharmacy; and 
‘‘(F) the assistance provided by the healthy 
food pharmacy to connect such patrons with 
other programs that address food insecurity 
and improve health outcomes. 
‘‘(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
2 years after the date of enactment of this section, 
and biennially thereafter during the term of the 
grant program under this section, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report that summarizes 
the reports received by the Secretary under para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means an entity described in subsection (c)(1). 
‘‘(2) HEALTHY
FOOD
PHARMACY.—The term 
‘healthy food pharmacy’ means an organization that 
provides to its patrons services that include— 
‘‘(A) access to nutritious foods that are 
representative of foods for a healthy diet, based 
on the Dietary Guidelines of the Department of 
Agriculture and guidance from the Secretary; 
and 
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‘‘(B) nutritional guidance from a qualified 
health care professional. 
‘‘(3) 
QUALIFIED
HEALTH
CARE
PROFES-
SIONAL.—The term ‘qualified health care profes-
sional’ means— 
‘‘(A) a registered dietitian or nutrition pro-
fessional, as defined by section 1861(vv)(2) of 
the 
Social 
Security 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
1395x(vv)(2)); 
‘‘(B) a physician, as defined by section 
1861(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395x(r)); and 
‘‘(C) a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse 
specialist, physician assistant, or other profes-
sional, as determined appropriate by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(4) QUALIFIED
HEALTH
CARE
PROVIDER.— 
The term ‘qualified health care provider’ means— 
‘‘(A) a provider of services, as defined by 
section 1861(u) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x(u)); 
‘‘(B) a physician organization, as defined 
by section 411.351 of title 42, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or successor regulations); 
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‘‘(C) a rural health clinic, as defined by 
section 1861(aa)(2) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(2)); 
‘‘(D) a Federally qualified health center, as 
defined by section 1887(aa)(4) of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(4)); or 
‘‘(E) another provider, as determined ap-
propriate by the Secretary. 
‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting 
through the Assistant Secretary for Health. 
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 
through 2030.’’. 
Æ 
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