Local Farms and Food Act

What it does

If Congress passes it, the Local Farms and Food Act would reform the Farm Bill to better support local food economies. Specifically, the bill would:

• Provide streamlined grants with a simplified application for certain Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program projects of $100,000 or less
• Reduce match requirements for certain Value-Added Producer Grants and the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) grants, making them easier to access for applicants
• Expand the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) to cover a limited investment in physical infrastructure, such as cold storage or equipment to improve food safety
• Increase LAMP mandatory and discretionary funding
• Reauthorize the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and allow for additional discretionary funding. This program provides low-income seniors with locally grown fruits and vegetables.
• Establish a separate review panel for GusNIP produce prescription grant applications to include health care experts

See a section by section bill summary.

Who supports this bill?

The Local Farms and Food Act is a bicameral, bipartisan bill, which means it has some support in both the Senate and the House, as well as among Democrats and Republicans. Senators Sherrod Brown, Tina Smith, Peter Welch and John Fetterman and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Dan Newhouse introduced the bill. In the Senate, this bill is referred to as S.1205 and these Senators are already supporting the bill. In the House, this bill is referred to as H.R.2723 and these Representatives are already supporting the bill.

This bill is endorsed by National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Farmers Market Coalition and Fair Food Network, among many other grassroots organizations.

Want to support this bill?

If your Senators and House Representative aren’t already on the list of cosponsors for the bill:

• Ask your two Senators to “cosponsor the Local Farms and Food Act, S.1205.”
• Ask your House Representative to “cosponsor the Local Farms and Food Act, H.R. 2723.”

If your elected officials are already supporting the Local Farms and Food Act, you can always contact them to thank them and help spread the word among your networks.

Resources

If you’d like to learn more about the Local Farms and Food Act, you can:

• Find instructions for calling or writing your Senators and Representative (tip: enter your address)
• Track the bill’s progress on Congress.gov or GovTrack
• Learn why lawmakers’ support this bill (Senator Sherrod Brown’s press release and Representative Chellie Pingree’s press release)
• Read the full bill text

See more bills worthy of your support in the 2023 Farm Bill.