Sponsors (10)
The bill provides a modest, targeted monthly produce benefit and administrative supports to increase fresh food access for low‑income communities, but its limited benefit size, eligibility caps, privacy risks, state implementation burdens, and five‑year pilot status leave gaps in reach and long‑term certainty.
Low-income households (SNAP recipients and other eligible families) receive a $60 monthly benefit to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, increasing direct access to healthier food.
SNAP households can be auto‑enrolled or opt in and states must minimize churn with grace periods, simplified renewals, timelines, and customer support, reducing paperwork and helping families retain benefits.
States receive funding to onboard and support a wider range of retailers (including farmers markets and mobile markets), expanding where fresh produce can be purchased, especially in rural and underserved urban areas.
Low-income households and families may find $60 per month insufficient to meet regular produce needs, limiting the program's nutritional impact.
Limiting eligibility to households at or below 80% of area median income could exclude some food-insecure households—especially in high-cost areas—reducing reach to people who still struggle with food access.
Using EBT technology and collecting household-level data raises privacy and data-security concerns for participants.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a USDA Fresh Bucks Pilot giving states grants to provide $60 monthly fresh-produce payments to eligible low-income households via EBT.
Official title: To establish a pilot program in the Department of Agriculture providing certain households with a monthly payment to purchase produce, to study the effect of such payments, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 2, 2026 by Pramila Jayapal · Last progress July 2, 2026
Creates a Fresh Bucks Pilot Program at USDA to award grants to states so low-income households can receive recurring monthly $60 payments to buy fresh produce at participating retailers. States apply with plans to reach low-access areas, prioritize food-insecure communities, use EBT-card disbursement, reduce paperwork, and implement churn-reduction protections. The Secretary of Agriculture must publish selection criteria, give regional grantee balance, allow grant funds for administration, retailer technical assistance, and data collection, and work with states on household eligibility (income limit at ≤80% area median income; SNAP households treated as meeting the income test and can be auto-enrolled).