Local School Foods Expansion Act of 2025

This bill, called the Local School Foods Expansion Act of 2025, aims to get more fresh, domestically grown fruits and vegetables into school meals and to support local and Tribal farmers. It expands the current program so more states can take part and sets clear rules to track results and help states and vendors join. It emphasizes reaching children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and backing small, local, and socially disadvantaged farmers and Tribal producers .

Key points

• Who is affected: Students who eat school meals; state agencies and school food programs; local, small, and socially disadvantaged farmers; Tribal producers; vendors and food hubs that supply schools.
• What changes: Raises the cap on participating states to 14; adds priorities for states that support small/local and Tribal producers and serve more disadvantaged children; requires a federal evaluation within 2 years and a report within 4 years on costs, quantities, benefits to meals, producer impacts, and barriers to joining the program .
• Funding and help: Provides $25 million each year from 2026–2030, with $10 million set aside yearly for states’ admin costs and technical help, including at least $500,000 per participating state; also reserves $1 million in years with fewer than 14 participating states to help other states get ready to join.

Overall, families can expect more fresh produce in school cafeterias, while local and Tribal producers get support and guidance to sell to schools, and the program is closely tracked to see what works and where to improve .