Greening Food Deserts Act - Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Office of Urban Agriculture which shall coordinate Department of Agriculture (USDA) activities related to urban agriculture and nutrition.
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to direct the Secretary to provide technical assistance in support of backyard conservation and community gardening programs involving small-scale subsistence and personal-use agriculture.
Amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 regarding urban and community forestry assistance to give a priority to the production and procurement in urban areas of plant materials that are resistant to invasive species.
Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to authorize appropriations for the seniors farmers' market nutrition program.
Directs the Secretary to make loans, provide loan guarantees, and make grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for farmers' market construction and renovation.
Amends the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997 to include an evaluation of state farmers' markets in each agriculture census.
Renames the Rural Energy for America Program as the Renewable Energy for America Program.
Authorizes the Secretary to make a microloan or grant available to support outreach activities for: (1) developing food production in communities not traditionally associated with agricultural production; and (2) supporting local food production and distribution.
Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase reimbursement rates for school lunch, breakfast, and summer food service meals consisting in whole or part of foods produced through agricultural education programs that use enrolled students to produce food and provide the food to in-house feeding programs.
Amends The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary to make eight grants each fiscal year to regional food banks or consortiums of community feeding programs for a demonstration project to produce fresh fruits and vegetables at these facilities while teaching eligible households how to engage in small-scale food production residentially or at community gardens.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4971 Introduced in House (IH)]
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. Velazquez, Ms. Lee of
California, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Ms. Roybal-Allard,
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 experiencing hunger,
poor nutrition, obesity, and food insecurity, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Greening Food
Deserts Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of 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.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND INTENT OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Dramatic economic, demographic, and land use changes in
the United States have created areas where no supermarkets
exist and where limited food choice, poor food quality, and
lack of affordable food prices impact large segments of the
country's population.
(2) Demographic changes have opened vast pockets of arable
land for agriculture in America's urban centers.
(3) Diversifying United States food production from a
globally consolidated and industrial food chain to one which
includes local production represents an important opportunity
to strengthen United States agriculture.
(4) With poverty rising due to chronic unemployment and
with food becoming a more significant component of family
budgets, local production becomes an important option for
families facing food insecurity.
(5) It is estimated that 18.5 percent of American
households have withheld food purchases due to economic
circumstances, and many of these households reside in
ethnically and racially diverse communities.
(6) Food insecurity, epidemic levels of obesity,
hypertension, diabetes and youth osteoporosis are caused by
improper nutrition in food deserts without nutritious,
reliable, and locally available healthy food options.
(7) Advances in agricultural technologies makes production
possible in regions previously cordoned off from such
opportunity.
(8) With studies suggesting that much of the American west
is becoming permanently more arid and 40 percent of all fresh
water resources in the United States are used for irrigation,
the need for more efficient food production and agriculture
closer to point of consumption is critical.
(9) Concentration in agricultural production and
outsourcing have exacerbated the food insecurity of many
communities.
(10) In 2001, at least 2,300,000 Americans lived in homes
in urban areas located more than a mile from the nearest
supermarket.
(11) Because many of these Americans are without access to
a motor vehicle with which to reach supermarkets located more
than a mile away from their homes, and there is no accessible
local farm production, vast segments of urban areas are now
described as ``food deserts''.
(12) The majority of youth in the United States are growing
up in environments with little knowledge of natural food
production and nutrition and lack basic survival skills.
(13) Two million, two hundred four thousand, seven hundred
ninety-two farms were in operation in 2007, including 300,000
new farms that began operations with smaller less consolidated
operations and lower sales than the average of all farms
nationwide.
(14) These new farms, on average, consisted of 201 acres of
land and generated an average of $71,000 in income, which was
nearly half the average size and income levels for the average
American farm.
(15) Rising fuel costs make transporting food long
distances significantly more expensive, but create
opportunities for the economical production of food closer to
point of consumption.
(16) From 1997 to 2009, the value of imported food products
to the United States increased over 100 percent from
$43,000,000,000 to $86,700,000,000, which has led to a growing
reliance on foreign-produced food, particularly during cold
seasons, as diminished options exist for locally produced fresh
and affordable choices.
(17) Expanding production and access to locally produced
food strengthens the vital link between healthy populations,
sustainable living, and the natural world.
(18) Diabetes and obesity alone cost the American people
approximately $130,000,000,000 annually in medical expenses and
lost productivity.
(19) Expanding access to food for vulnerable populations
involves regional food production in communities where the link
between daily life and the natural world has been all but
eliminated.
(20) Many of the tools exist to break the cycle of food
insecurity and empower communities: For example, by the end of
World War II, over 20,000,000 home gardens were supplying 40
percent of domestically consumed produce.
(21) Between 1994 and 2008, the number of farmers' markets
nationwide grew 167 percent and between fiscal years 2005 and
2006, the number of farmers' markets with electronic benefit
transfer devices grew from 436 to 532.
(22) Promoting the many different forms of agriculture,
both consolidated, industrial agriculture and small scale,
decentralized agriculture, is beneficial to serving many
different needs in a diverse society.
(23) In 2007, 247,772 farms harvested 39,259,592 acres of
specialty crops and produced $67,417,397,000 worth of food
products, which, if expanded to include production in food
deserts across the country, has the potential to provide
investment and improved nutrition to communities and reinvent
urban landscapes that lack sufficient access to food.
(24) In the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
(Public Law 110-246), Congress provided the Department of
Agriculture with sufficient flexibility in implementing certain
programs to promote locally based agricultural enterprises,
including a 5 percent set-aside for business and industry loan
program for underserved communities, significant increases for
the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program that links local
producers and consumers, an expanded authorization for the Farm
to School Program, and new legal requirements allowing
flexibility in local purchase by some nutrition programs.
(b) Intent of Congress.--It is the intent of Congress--
(1) to augment existing authorities to engage agricultural
production, combat food insecurity, and counteract the
substitution of imported products as they displace greater
shares domestically produced products;
(2) to pursue better coordination to empower communities to
eliminate food deserts, purchase and produce food locally,
create sustainable food systems, and connect better the
existing programs that can and should be used to alleviate
pockets of hunger and severe food insecurity;
(3) to work with the various State agencies responsible for
administering the Federal nutrition programs on methods and
strategies for using Federal food dollars to create local and
micro-enterprise development in areas where these nutrition
programs are used; and
(4) to develop a unified strategy to use the Federal
nutrition programs as a tool for economic development in food
insecure regions, even in regions that have not traditionally
been centers for food production where human need is evident.
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE.
(a) Establishment.--The Department of Agriculture Reorganization
Act of 1994 is amended by inserting after section 220 (7 U.S.C. 6920)
the following new section:
``SEC. 221. OFFICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish within the
executive operations of the Department an office to be known as the
Office of Urban Agriculture.
``(b) Purpose and Responsibilities of Office.--
``(1) Purpose.--The Office of Urban Agriculture is
established for the purpose of coordinating activities
throughout the Department of Agriculture related to urban
agriculture and nutrition.
``(2) Specific responsibilities.--The Office of Urban
Agriculture shall be responsible for coordinating Department
activities and conducting oversight in the following mission
areas:
``(A) Ensuring that Department authorities are used
to effectively encourage agricultural production in
underserved communities to combat hunger, poor
nutrition, obesity, and food insecurity.
``(B) Ensuring that Department authorities are used
to empower communities, especially communities with a
large percentage of low-income residents, to eliminate
shortages of affordable, fresh food products, increase
the local production and sale of food, and create
sustainable food systems.
``(C) Developing a unified strategy to link the
agricultural production and nutrition programs
administered by the Department as a tool for economic
development in underserved communities in a manner that
addresses local conditions and engages local residents
through agricultural economic development.
``(D) Ensuring that nutrition programs administered
by State agencies maximize the impact of Federal funds
in creating local agricultural microenterprises.
``(E) Conducting systematic and regular reviews of
Department authorities and making policy
recommendations to Congress and the Secretary on new
authorities or regulation changes to assist underserved
communities to combat hunger, poor nutrition, obesity,
and food insecurity.
``(F) Ensuring that the programs established by the
Greening Food Deserts Act and by amendments made by
that Act are implemented in a manner consistent with
the goal of eliminating underserved communities.
``(c) Underserved Community Defined.--In this section, the term
`underserved community' has the meaning given that term in section
25(a)(3) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2034(a)(3)).''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 296(b) of the Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following new
paragraph:
``(8) the responsibility of the Secretary to establish in
the Department the Office of Urban Agriculture in accordance
with section 226B.''.
(c) Sufficiency of Resources for Office.--Not later than 60 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture
shall submit to Congress a report describing the resources and staff
necessary to permit the Office of Urban Agriculture established
pursuant to section 221 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization
Act of 1994, as added by subsection (a), to carry out its
responsibilities under such section.
SEC. 4. NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION SERVICE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN
SUPPORT OF BACKYARD CONSERVATION AND COMMUNITY GARDENING
PROGRAMS.
Section 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(j) Technical Assistance for Backyard Conservation and Community
Gardening.--
``(1) Authority to provide assistance.--The Secretary shall
provide technical assistance in support of backyard
conservation and community gardening programs involving small-
scale subsistence and personal-use agriculture for the purpose
of--
``(A) achieving expanded and improved production;
and
``(B) implementing conservation methods related to
small-scale and personal-use production.
``(2) Use of botanical gardens.--To provide technical
assistance under this subsection, the Secretary shall seek to
certify botanical gardens as third-party providers under
subsection (e).
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Secretary $20,000,000 each fiscal
year to carry out this subsection.''.
SEC. 5. URBAN FOREST INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL PROGRAM.
(a) Investment in Invasive Resistant Species.--Section 9(e) of the
Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2105(e)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``In carrying
out this subsection, the Secretary shall give a priority to the
production and procurement in urban areas of plant materials that are
resistant to invasive species.''.
(b) Challenge Cost-Share Grants for Invasive Species Control,
Management, and Recovery Efforts.--Section 9(f) of the Cooperative
Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2105(f)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ``50 percent'' the
following: ``(75 percent in the case of a project involving
invasive species control, management, or recovery)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Set-aside for invasive species control, management,
and recovery efforts.--Of the funds made available for a fiscal
year for the challenge cost-share program, the Secretary shall
reserve $10,000,000 for projects in urban areas involving
invasive species control, management, or recovery efforts.''.
SEC. 6. EXTENSION AND ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR SENIORS FARMERS' MARKET
NUTRITION PROGRAM.
(a) Extension and Funding.--Section 4402(a) of the Farm Security
and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007(a)) is amended to read
as follows:
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall use funds
available to the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out and expand a
seniors farmers' market nutrition program in the following amounts:
``(1) For fiscal year 2011, not less than $25,000,000.
``(2) For fiscal year 2012, not less than $50,000,000.
``(3) For fiscal year 2013, not less than $75,000,000.
``(4) For each of fiscal years 2014 through 2017, not less
than $100,000,000.''.
(b) Purposes.--Section 4402(b)(1) of the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007(b)(1)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``unprepared'' and inserting ``minimally
processed''; and
(2) by striking ``and herbs'' and inserting ``herbs, and
other locally produced farm products, as the Secretary
considers appropriate,''.
(c) Administrative Costs; Unexpended Funds.--Section 4402 of the
Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(f) Administrative Costs.--Not more than 10 percent of the funds
made available for a fiscal year under subsection (a) may be used to
pay administrative costs incurred in carrying out this section.
``(g) Unexpended Funds.--To the extent the funds made available
under subsection (a) for a fiscal year are not expended in that fiscal
year, the Secretary may use such funds in a subsequent fiscal year for
the same purpose.''.
SEC. 7. INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING FOR FARMERS' MARKETS.
(a) Loans, Loan Guarantees, and Grants for Farmers' Market
Expansion.--In addition to assistance provided through the seniors
farmers' market nutrition program under section 4402 of the Farm
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007) to expand or
aid in the expansion of domestic farmers' markets, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall make loans, provide loan guarantees, and make grants
to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for--
(1) the construction of new farmers' markets; and
(2) the improvement or rehabilitation of existing farmers'
markets.
(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a loan, loan guarantee,
or grant under subsection (a), a public agency or nonprofit
organization involved in the construction, improvement, or
rehabilitation of a farmers' market shall--
(1) demonstrate financial need, as determined by the
Secretary; and
(2) commit to reserving at least 50 percent of the floor
area of the farmers' market for the sale of products that are
produced locally, as determined by the Secretary, by farmers,
ranchers, or aquaculture, mariculture, or fisheries operators,
or by associations of farmers, ranchers, or such operators.
(c) Cost Sharing.--
(1) Grants.--The amount of a grant under subsection (a)
shall not exceed 25 percent of the cost of the activity to be
supported by the grant.
(2) Maximum amount of combined grant and loan.--The
combined amount of a grant and loan made or guaranteed under
subsection (a) shall not exceed 80 percent of the cost of the
activity to be supported by the grant and loan.
(d) Interest Rate.--
(1) In general.--A loan made by the Secretary under
subsection (a) shall bear interest at the rate equivalent to
the rate of interest charged on Treasury securities of
comparable maturity on the date the loan is approved.
(2) Duration.--The interest rate for each loan will remain
in effect for the term of the loan.
(e) Funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the
Secretary shall make available to carry out this section $50,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012.
SEC. 8. EVALUATION OF STATE OF FARMERS' MARKETS IN CENSUS OF
AGRICULTURE.
Section 2(a) of the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997 (7 U.S.C.
2204g(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Inclusion of farmers' markets.--Effective beginning
with the first census of agriculture conducted after the date
of the enactment of the Greening Food Deserts Act, the
Secretary shall include as part of each census of agriculture--
``(A) an evaluation of the state of farmers'
markets in the United States, including information
regarding the size, location, operational capacity, and
geographic dispersion of farmers' markets and types of
products sold (both in terms of product diversity and
sales locations) through farmers' markets; and
``(B) an analysis of the economic impact of
farmers' markets, including the success of Federal
programs in promoting and supporting farmers'
markets.''.
SEC. 9. RENAMING OF RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM TO REFLECT PURPOSE
OF THE PROGRAM.
Section 9007 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
(7 U.S.C. 8107), as amended by section 9001 of the Food, Conservation,
and Energy Act of 2008, is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``rural energy''
and inserting ``renewable energy''; and
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ``Rural Energy for
America Program'' and inserting ``Renewable Energy for America
Program''.
SEC. 10. URBAN AGRICULTURE OUTREACH PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
community organization, municipality, institution of higher
education, or nonprofit organization.
(2) Food production.--The term ``food production''
includes--
(A) the implementation of small scale, organic,
aquiculture, and such other urban production models as
the Secretary of Agriculture considers appropriate;
(B) the deployment of food infrastructure in an
underserved community;
(C) the conversion of vacant land into animal and
plant food production areas;
(D) the creation of infrastructure for community
gardens;
(E) education regarding small-scale subsistence and
personal-use agriculture; and
(F) other activities that promote agricultural
enterprise and development in communities not
traditionally associated with agricultural production.
(3) Microloan or grant.--The term ``microloan or grant''
means a business loan or grant of not more than $25,000.
(4) Underserved community.--The term ``underserved
community'' has the meaning given that term in section 25(a)(3)
of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2034(a)(3)).
(b) Microloans and Grants Authorized.--The Secretary of Agriculture
may make a microloan or grant available to an eligible entity to
support outreach activities for--
(1) developing food production in communities not
traditionally associated with agricultural production; and
(2) supporting the local distribution of food products
derived from the food production activities.
(c) Loan Terms.--A microloan made by the Secretary under this
section shall--
(1) be for a term not to exceed three years; and
(2) bear an annual interest rate not to exceed Treasury
bearing rates.
(d) Deferral of Interest and Principal.--The Secretary may permit
the deferral of payments on principal and interest due on a microloan
made under this section for a two-year period beginning on the date the
loan is made.
(e) Grant Cost Sharing Requirements.--
(1) Matching requirement.--The Secretary shall require an
eligible entity receiving a grant under this section to match
not less than 10 percent of the total amount of the grant.
(2) Form of non-federal share.--The matching requirement
may be satisfied through the provision of--
(A) cash (including through fees, grants (including
community development block grants), and gifts); or
(B) in-kind contributions acceptable to the
Secretary.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $20,000,000 for
each fiscal year.
SEC. 11. PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN SCHOOLS BY
AUTHORIZING HIGHER REIMBURSEMENT RATES UNDER SCHOOL
LUNCH, SCHOOL BREAKFAST, AND SUMMER FOOD SERVICE
PROGRAMS.
(a) School Lunch.--Section 8 of the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1757) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
``(h) The maximum per meal reimbursement rate otherwise applicable
to a school shall be increased by 20 percent in the case of any meals
consisting in whole or part of foods produced through agricultural
education programs that use enrolled students to produce food and
provide the food to in-house feeding programs. Agricultural education
programs include after-school programs in gardening or agriculture
production, agricultural internships teaching practical agricultural
activities, and other school activities associated with food
production, processing, and preparation.''.
(b) School Breakfast.--Section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966
(42 U.S.C. 1773) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(f) Higher Reimbursement Rate for In-House Food Production.--The
maximum meal reimbursement rate otherwise applicable to a school shall
be increased by 20 percent in the case of any breakfasts consisting in
whole or part of foods produced through agricultural education programs
that use enrolled students to produce food and provide the food to in-
house feeding programs. Agricultural education programs include after-
school programs in gardening or agriculture production, agricultural
internships teaching practical agricultural activities, and other
school activities associated with food production, processing, and
preparation.''.
(c) Summer Food Service Program.--Section 13(b)(1)(C) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(b)(1)(C))
is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``If the
service institution continues during the summer or school vacation an
agricultural education program for which the service institution
received a higher reimbursement rate under section 8(h) of this Act or
section 4(f) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773(f)),
the higher rate shall continue to apply to the service institution
under this section.''.
SEC. 12. SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PILOT PROGRAM OF
LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY GRANTS.
The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 is amended by inserting after
section 25 (7 U.S.C. 2034) the following new section:
``SEC. 25A. PILOT PROGRAM OF LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY GRANTS.
``(a) Grants Authorized.--From amounts made available to carry out
this section, the Secretary shall make eight grants each fiscal year to
regional food banks or consortiums of community feeding programs to
carry out a demonstration project for the purpose of--
``(1) producing fresh fruits and vegetables at these
facilities while teaching eligible households how to engage in
small-scale food production residentially or at community
gardens;
``(2) integrating processing and distribution of the
produced fresh fruits and vegetables; and
``(3) providing an increased benefit under subsection (c)
for eligible households procuring the produced fresh fruits and
vegetables at these facilities.
``(b) Grant Limits.--The total amount of funds provided as grants
to a single recipient under this section for a fiscal year may not
exceed $300,000.
``(c) Increased Benefits.--Eligible households participating in the
pilot program shall be eligible to receive 120 percent of the value of
the supplemental nutrition assistance that would otherwise be provided
to the household under this Act when purchasing food that was produced
through the program.
``(d) Grant Cost Sharing Requirements.--
``(1) Matching requirement.--As a condition of any grant
made under this section, the Secretary shall require the grant
recipient to match not less than five percent of the total
amount of the grant.
``(2) Form of non-federal share.--The matching requirement
may be satisfied through the provision of--
``(A) cash (including through fees, grants
(including community development block grants), and
gifts); or
``(B) in-kind contributions acceptable to the
Secretary.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $2,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to House Agriculture
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.
Referred to House Education and Labor
Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research.
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