Title: Farm to School Act of 2017
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Farm to School Act of 2017
This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to reauthorize the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Farm to School Program through FY2023 and modify the program. The program currently provides grants and technical assistance to schools, state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers, and nonprofit entities to improve access to local foods in schools.
The bill makes schools participating in the Summer Food Service Program for children, the early care and afterschool portions of the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the School Breakfast Program eligible to participate in the program. It also permits USDA to provide land-grant colleges and universities with grants, research, and technical assistance under the program.
The purposes for grants awarded under the program are expanded to include agricultural literacy and nutrition education. The bill requires USDA to provide technical assistance, research, and information to increase awareness of and participation in farm to school programs among agricultural producers.
In awarding grants, USDA must seek to improve local food procurement and distribution options for agricultural producers and eligible schools. USDA is permitted to fund projects that include innovative approaches to aggregation, processing, transportation, and distribution.
The bill establishes new limitations on the amount and duration of grants.
The bill also establishes reporting requirements and limits funds that may be used for administrative costs.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1767 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1767

   To reauthorize the farm to school program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 6, 2017

Mr. Leahy (for himself and Mr. Cochran) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To reauthorize the farm to school program, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Farm to School Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS: FARM TO SCHOOL PROGRAM.

    Section 18(g) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1769(g)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking the paragraph designation and 
                heading and all that follows through ``In this 
                subsection, the'' and inserting the following:
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Agricultural producer.--The term 
                `agricultural producer' means a farmer, rancher, or 
                fisher (including of farm-raised fish).
                    ``(B) Eligible school.--The''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesignated), by 
                inserting ``, including the summer food service program 
                for children under section 13 and the early care and 
                afterschool portions of the child and adult care food 
                program under section 17,'' after ``under this Act'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and nonprofit entities 
        through grants and technical assistance'' and inserting ``land-
        grant colleges and universities, and nonprofit entities through 
        grants, technical assistance, and research'';
            (3) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in clause (i), by inserting ``and 
                        technical assistance'' after ``training'';
                            (ii) by redesignating clauses (vi) and 
                        (vii) as clauses (vii) and (viii), 
                        respectively; and
                            (iii) by inserting after clause (v) the 
                        following:
                            ``(vi) implementing agricultural literacy 
                        and nutrition education;''; and
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the 
                following:
                    ``(C) Improved procurement and distribution.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In awarding grants under 
                        this subsection, the Secretary shall seek to 
                        improve local food procurement and distribution 
                        options for agricultural producers and eligible 
                        schools.
                            ``(ii) Aggregation, processing, 
                        transportation, and distribution.--In advancing 
                        local food procurement options and other farm 
                        to school objectives, the Secretary may provide 
                        funding for projects that include innovative 
                        approaches to aggregation, processing, 
                        transportation, and distribution.
                    ``(D) Awards.--
                            ``(i) Maximum amount.--The total amount 
                        provided to a grant recipient under this 
                        subsection shall not exceed $200,000.
                            ``(ii) Term.--The term of an award shall 
                        not exceed 3 years.
                            ``(iii) Purpose and scope.--In making 
                        awards under this subsection, the Secretary 
                        shall seek to make awards of diverse amounts 
                        and duration in order to best match the award 
                        to the purpose and scope of the project to be 
                        funded.
                    ``(E) Limitation.--The Secretary may not award a 
                grant under this subsection if the grant funds would be 
                used solely for the purpose of carrying out a 
                conference.'';
            (4) in paragraph (5)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (G) 
                as clauses (i) through (vii), respectively, and 
                indenting the clauses appropriately;
                    (B) in clause (ii) (as so redesignated), by 
                striking ``lunches'' and inserting ``meals'';
                    (C) in the matter preceding clause (i) (as so 
                redesignated), by striking ``To the maximum extent 
                practicable'' and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--To the maximum extent 
                practicable'';
                    (D) in clause (vi) (as so redesignated), by 
                striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (E) by redesignating clause (vii) (as so 
                redesignated) as clause (viii);
                    (F) by inserting after clause (vi) (as so 
                redesignated) the following:
                            ``(vii) expand the selection of local 
                        commodities for eligible schools; and''; and
                    (G) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Tribal community projects.--In the case of 
                projects serving tribal communities, the Secretary 
                shall, to the maximum extent practicable, give highest 
                priority to projects that best use products from tribal 
                agricultural producers, as determined by the 
                Secretary.'';
            (5) in paragraph (7)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (C) 
                as clauses (i) through (iii), respectively, and 
                indenting appropriately;
                    (B) by striking the paragraph designation and 
                heading and all that follows through ``nonprofit 
                entities--'' and inserting the following:
            ``(7) Technical assistance and research.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide 
                technical assistance, research, and information to 
                assist eligible schools, State and local agencies, 
                Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers or 
                agricultural producer groups, and nonprofit entities--
                '';
                    (C) in subparagraph (A) (as so designated)--
                            (i) in clause (ii) (as so redesignated), by 
                        striking ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) in clause (iii) (as so redesignated), 
                        by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                        ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) to increase awareness of, and 
                        participation in, farm to school programs among 
                        agricultural and aquaculture producers or 
                        agricultural producer groups, including 
                        beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged 
                        farmers and ranchers.''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Review.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 1 year 
                        after the date of enactment of the Farm to 
                        School Act of 2017 and every 3 years 
                        thereafter, the Secretary shall review and 
                        submit to the Committee on Agriculture and the 
                        Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 
                        House of Representatives and the Committee on 
                        Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
                        Senate a report that describes the progress 
                        that has been made in identifying and 
                        eliminating regulatory and other barriers 
                        related to developing farm to school programs.
                            ``(ii) Requirements.--In preparing the 
                        report, the Secretary shall examine--
                                    ``(I) the direct and indirect 
                                regulatory compliance costs affecting 
                                the production and marketing of locally 
                                or regionally produced agricultural 
                                food products to school food programs; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) barriers to local and 
                                regional market access for small-scale 
                                production.'';
            (6) in paragraph (8)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``$5,000,000'' 
                and inserting ``$15,000,000''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Administration.--Of the funds provided to the 
                Secretary under subparagraph (A), not more than 5 
                percent may be used to pay administrative costs 
                incurred by the Secretary in carrying out this 
                subsection.''; and
            (7) in paragraph (9), by striking ``2011 through 2015'' and 
        inserting ``2018 through 2023''.
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