Sponsors (4)
The bill expands farm-to-institution education, market access for local producers, and Tribal participation while prioritizing small, shorter grants and tighter eligibility — a trade-off that boosts local and educational benefits but may constrain large-scale investments and add administrative burdens.
Children and students in eligible schools and institutions gain expanded hands-on agriculture, nutrition, and culturally relevant food education.
Local agricultural producers, including beginning farmers and fishers, gain improved access to institutional markets through funded procurement, aggregation, processing, transport, and distribution projects.
Tribal communities receive higher priority and may use certain Federal Tribal funds to meet matching requirements, lowering barriers for Tribal projects and supporting Tribal sovereignty over farm-to-institution activities.
Large-scale supply-chain projects and efforts requiring multi-year investment may be underfunded because grant awards are capped at $500,000 and limited to 3 years, limiting potential impact on regional capacity and scale-up.
Some existing grantees or activities could be excluded because the bill tightens definitions of eligible entities and restricts allowable uses of funds (for example, prohibiting grants solely for conferences).
Periodic reporting requirements and new administrative rules for waivers increase administrative workload and could slow grant disbursement or raise program costs for USDA and applicants.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Revises the Patrick Leahy Farm to School program to clarify definitions, broaden eligible activities, add research/evaluation, set grant caps/terms, and allow matching waivers and Tribal matching flexibility.
Official title: Amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to reauthorize the farm to school program, and for other purposes.
Introduced November 6, 2025 by Peter Welch · Last progress November 6, 2025
Revises and expands the federal Farm to School (Patrick Leahy) program by clarifying who qualifies, broadening eligible activities, and changing grant rules. The bill updates definitions (e.g., "agricultural producer" and "eligible institution"), allows grants to fund education, gardens, local procurement, aggregation/processing/transportation/distribution, and adds research and evaluation to the Secretary's authorities. It also sets grant limits (maximum $500,000 per award, up to 3 years), prohibits grants solely for conferences, requires the Secretary to pursue diversity in award sizes/durations, allows waivers or modifications of matching requirements (and a published waiver process), and permits Tribal agencies to count certain Federal tribal health/benefit funds toward matching where consistent with purpose.