H.R. 4314 — Farmers Feeding America Act

This section declares the purpose of the Act to support domestic agriculture, strengthen American food production, and ensure that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are used to purchase foods grown, processed, and manufactured in the United States.

This section defines the following terms for purposes of the Act: (1) "American food product" as any food grown, harvested, or produced in the United States and processed or manufactured in the United States with at least 51% of ingredients sourced domestically; (2) "retailer compliance" as the requirement that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-authorized retailers make a good faith effort to prioritize American food products for SNAP benefit purchases; and (3) "SNAP" as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).

This section requires that food purchased with benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—which provides nutrition assistance to low-income households—be an American food product unless (1) the item is not commercially available domestically in sufficient quantities or reasonable quality or (2) the Secretary of Agriculture grants an exemption due to undue burden on SNAP households (e.g., cost or regional availability). The Secretary must maintain and regularly update a list of exempted foods based on domestic production trends and market conditions.

This section requires SNAP-authorized retailers (i.e., stores approved to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits) to (1) make reasonable efforts to stock American food products in relevant food categories and (2) report on compliance efforts upon request by the Department of Agriculture. Noncompliance may result in warnings, required corrective action, or suspension of SNAP authorization in repeated or egregious cases.

This section requires (1) the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with relevant federal and state agencies, to establish regulations and guidance ensuring retailer compliance with the Act; (2) a public awareness campaign educating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients and retailers on the benefits and requirements of purchasing American food products; and (3) an annual review assessing the Act's economic impact and effectiveness, with recommendations for potential adjustments.