Sponsors (2)
The bill significantly increases and targets federal support to expand produce incentives and strengthen evidence for produce-prescription programs—improving access for low-income communities—while imposing funding rules and eligibility limits that could concentrate resources and reduce flexibility for new or smaller local implementers.
Low-income SNAP shoppers nationwide will get expanded fruit-and-vegetable incentives as grants and cooperative agreements scale statewide programs, increasing their ability to buy fresh produce.
Federal funding for the GusNIP program is substantially increased and made ongoing ($57.5M/year for FY2027–2031 and beyond), supporting continuity and expansion of nutrition incentive and produce-prescription work.
Prioritizing diverse retail settings (including independent retailers and farmers markets) will improve access to fresh produce in underserved urban and rural communities.
The 50% federal share cap (with narrow waiver criteria) will shift substantial costs to state/local partners and retailers, limiting what projects communities can afford to implement or sustain.
Requiring that 90% of cooperative-agreement funds be spent on redeemed incentives reduces funding flexibility for administrative, evaluation, and infrastructure costs needed to run and scale programs effectively.
Limiting cooperative agreements to prior grant recipients excludes new community groups and innovators from scaling programs, concentrating awards with established organizations and reducing equitable access to funding.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Sets a 50% federal share cap with a narrow 30-year "persistently poor" waiver and creates 4-year cooperative agreements to scale statewide nutrition incentive and produce-prescription programs.
Official title: To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 with respect to the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program and the sustainability of such program, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 13, 2026 by Rick Crawford · Last progress February 13, 2026
Revises federal rules for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) by capping the federal share of grant-funded activities at 50 percent (with a narrowly defined waiver for persistently poor counties or census tracts) and creates a new cooperative-agreement authority to scale statewide nutrition incentive programs. It also clarifies and restructures the produce-prescription pilot/grant program, requires multi-year (at least four-year) agreements with prior grantees and state SNAP agency partners, and mandates that the vast majority of cooperative-agreement funds be spent on redeemed incentives at eligible retailers.