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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3127 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3127
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to
reauthorize the farm to school program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 6, 2025
Mr. Welch (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Ms. Blunt Rochester)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 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 2025''.
SEC. 2. ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS: PATRICK LEAHY 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 the subsection heading, by striking ``Program'' and
inserting ``Program.'';
(2) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking the paragraph designation and
heading and all that follows through ``means'' 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 institution.--The term `eligible
institution' means''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Farm to school program.--The term `farm to
school program' means a program that--
``(i) benefits an eligible institution, as
determined by the Secretary; and
``(ii) carries out--
``(I) planting and maintenance of
farms or gardens;
``(II) procurement from local
agricultural producers; or
``(III) educational activities
relating to agriculture, nutrition, or
food.'';
(3) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``schools'' each place it appears
and inserting ``institutions'';
(B) by inserting ``land-grant colleges and
universities,'' before ``and nonprofit''; and
(C) by striking ``grants and technical assistance''
and inserting ``grants, technical assistance, research,
and evaluation'';
(4) 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 educational activities
relating to agriculture, nutrition, or food;'';
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
institutions.
``(ii) Aggregation, processing,
transportation, and distribution.--In advancing
local food procurement options and other farm
to school program 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 $500,000.
``(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.'';
(5) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``, Tribal,''
after ``State''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Waiver or modification.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary may waive
or modify the matching requirement under this
paragraph if the Secretary determines that a
waiver or modification is necessary to reduce
barriers to applications for projects that meet
1 or more of the criteria for receiving highest
priority under paragraph (5).
``(ii) Process.--The Secretary shall
establish and make publicly available the
process by which an applicant may request a
waiver or modification under clause (i).
``(D) Tribal agencies.--The Secretary may allow a
Tribal agency to use funds provided to the Indian Tribe
of the Tribal agency through a Federal agency
(including the Indian Health Service) or any other
Federal benefit to satisfy all or part of the non-
Federal share described in subparagraph (A) if that use
is consistent with the purpose of the funds or other
Federal benefit provided.'';
(6) in paragraph (5)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (F)
and (G) as clauses (i) through (vi) and (ix),
respectively, and indenting the clauses appropriately;
(B) 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'';
(C) in clause (i) (as so redesignated), by striking
``school'' and inserting ``institution'';
(D) in clause (ii) (as so redesignated), by
striking ``lunches'' and inserting ``meals'';
(E) by striking clause (iii) (as so redesignated)
and inserting the following:
``(iii)(I) incorporate experiential and
traditional and culturally appropriate food,
nutrition, or agricultural education activities
in curriculum planning; and
``(II) serve a high proportion of children
from socially disadvantaged backgrounds;'';
(F) in clause (iv) (as so redesignated), by
striking ``eligible schools'' and all that follows
through ``partners'' and inserting ``eligible
institutions, State and local agencies, Tribal
organizations and agencies, agricultural producers or
groups of agricultural producers, land-grant colleges
and universities, and nonprofit entities'';
(G) in clause (vi) (as so redesignated), by
striking ``and'' at the end;
(H) by inserting after clause (vi) (as so
redesignated) the following:
``(vii) expand the selection of local
commodities for eligible institutions;
``(viii) identify and address chronic diet-
related health issues of the children served by
eligible institutions; and''; and
(I) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Tribal community projects.--To the maximum
extent practicable, in providing assistance under this
subsection for projects that serve Tribal communities,
the Secretary shall give the highest priority to
projects that incorporate products, including
traditional foods, from Tribal agricultural producers,
as determined by the Secretary.'';
(7) 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 institutions, 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 farmers and ranchers, veteran farmers
and ranchers, and socially disadvantaged
farmers and ranchers (as those terms are
defined in section 2501(a) of the Food,
Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of
1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))).''; 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 2025 and every 3 years
thereafter, the Secretary shall review and
submit to the Committees on Agriculture and
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 and early
childhood food programs;
``(II) barriers to local and
regional market access for small-scale
production;
``(III) barriers to funding
projects that meet the criteria
described in paragraph (5)(A);
``(IV) barriers to local and
regional market access for Tribal
farmers and ranchers; and
``(V) barriers to funding Tribal
projects under farm to school
programs.'';
(8) 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
(9) in paragraph (9), by striking ``2011 through 2015'' and
inserting ``2026 through 2031''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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