Sponsor
Michael F. Bennet
Senator · D-CO
Senator · D-CO
The bill substantially expands and modernizes farmers' market nutrition programs to increase access to fresh food for low-income people and support local producers, but does so at higher federal cost and with transitional technology and administrative burdens that could shift funds or reduce flexibility for some participants and vendors.
Low-income families (including WIC participants), pregnant women, infants/children, and seniors will receive larger or expanded farmers' market benefits and improved access to fresh fruits and vegetables through higher coupon amounts, raised minimums, and broader program reach.
Programs receive substantially increased and more predictable funding (including CCC funding and a mandatory $30M/year stream), enabling sustained program expansion and more reliable benefits.
Modernization (electronic redemption/EBT interoperability, aggregated redemption/CSA/home delivery options, phased implementation) will make benefits easier to use and increase participation—particularly for homebound and rural beneficiaries.
Expanding benefits and creating mandatory/authorized funding streams increases federal spending and taxpayer costs, raising budget pressures and potentially requiring offsets or cuts elsewhere.
States, tribes, markets, and farmers will face administrative and transition costs (training, equipment, IT adoption) to implement modernization and new program features, creating short-term burdens and implementation risk.
Changes to allocation formulas, nonparticipant set-asides, and removing benefit maximums could reallocate funds away from some current participants or concentrate benefits unevenly, potentially reducing benefits for some seniors and complicating equitable distribution.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Substantially increases funding and benefits for senior and WIC farmers’ market programs, enables electronic and aggregator redemptions, and requires USDA studies and reports to integrate and modernize benefit delivery.
Official title: Amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to expand investment in farmers' markets and farmers' market nutrition programs to strengthen communities and improve access to healthy food, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 23, 2026 by Michael F. Bennet · Last progress June 23, 2026
Provides substantial new annual funding and program changes to expand farmers’ market nutrition benefits for seniors and WIC participants, increase payments to local farmers, and modernize how benefits are delivered. It raises benefit amounts, creates new and mandatory appropriations for FY2027–FY2031, allows electronic and aggregator redemption, and directs studies and reports to align and potentially integrate farmers’ market and nutrition-incentive systems. Also requires the USDA to consult stakeholders, produce a study on interoperable benefit delivery across SNAP/WIC/senior programs, and report to Congress within one year on the Act’s impacts on local procurement, farmers, and emergency feeding organizations.