H.R. 4782 — Local Farmers Feeding our Communities Act

This section establishes the Local Farmers Feeding Our Communities program, under which the Secretary of Agriculture enters into noncompetitive cooperative agreements with eligible entities (i.e., state agencies, commissions, or departments responsible for agriculture, procurement, food distribution, emergency response, or similar activities, including federally recognized Indian Tribes) to (1) purchase unprocessed or minimally processed local foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, grain products) from covered producers (i.e., fishermen, farmers, ranchers, processors, or cooperative processors within the entity's boundaries or not more than 400 miles from delivery); (2) ensure at least 25% of total annual purchase value is from small-size producers (annual gross cash farm income under $350,000), mid-size producers ($350,000 to under $1 million), beginning farmers or ranchers, or veteran farmers or ranchers (as defined in 7 U.S.C. 2279); (3) provide technical assistance to covered producers (e.g., food safety training) and to grow local agricultural value chains; (4) distribute such foods to experienced nonprofits to improve access to healthy food; and (5) build economic opportunities for covered producers. Eligible entities may use no more than 25% of funds for administrative expenses and technical assistance (with at least 50% of that amount for technical assistance), and the Secretary must provide guidance and monitoring. The Secretary must allocate funds as follows: 10% to Tribal governments via formula; 1% to each state (other than Tribal governments); and remainder to other eligible entities via the formula in 7 U.S.C. 7515. The program receives $200 million annually in mandatory funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation for FY2026 and each fiscal year thereafter, plus $200 million authorized annually for FY2026 through FY2030 (to remain available until expended).