S. 3471 — EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act

This section provides a short title for the Act as the “Enabling Farmer, Food worker, Environmental, and Climate Targets through Innovative, Values-aligned, and Equitable Food Procurement Act” or the “EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act”.

This section declares congressional findings that the Department of Agriculture, as one of the largest food purchasers in the world, has the responsibility and opportunity to promote a more just, healthy, and sustainable food system by purchasing foods that support (1) regional and resilient food economies; (2) worker well-being; (3) a safe and healthy environment; (4) equity and inclusion; (5) fairness for family farms, fishing businesses, and ranches; and (6) animal welfare.

This section defines 16 terms used in the Act, including "beginning farmer, fisherman, or rancher" (i.e., a person who has not operated or has operated a farm, fishing business, or ranch for not more than 10 years and meets Secretary criteria); "covered producer" (i.e., a beginning, veteran, socially disadvantaged, or small- or medium-sized farmer, fisherman, or rancher); "small or medium-sized farm or ranch" (i.e., annual gross cash farm income less than $999,999 or Secretary-determined acreage criteria); "covered entity" (i.e., nonprofit or for-profit processor, distributor, or food hub sourcing at least 51% of value from covered producers); "covered authority" (i.e., USDA purchasing programs such as section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c)); and "fishing business" (i.e., engaged in commercial fishing, as defined in 16 U.S.C. 1802).

This section establishes requirements for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), in procuring foods under covered authorities (i.e., commodity procurement programs for school food authorities and food banks), to make available and purchase a sufficient variety of foods in four categories: (1) supporting equity and inclusion (e.g., from covered producers or entities, or accommodating religious or restricted diets); (2) supporting diversified supply chains (e.g., from covered producers or entities, agricultural cooperatives or food hubs principally serving them, certified organic farms, or farms in independent animal welfare certification programs); (3) supporting worker well-being (e.g., from vendors with union collective bargaining agreements or memoranda of understanding, worker justice certifications, or labor peace agreements with bona fide unions); and (4) mitigating climate impacts (e.g., using low-greenhouse gas (GHG) practices such as perennials, crop rotations, or ecologically managed pastures; from anti-deforestation suppliers; with lower lifecycle GHG emissions than nutritionally similar foods; or providing co-benefits like improved soil health, biodiversity, or water conservation). This section further directs USDA to submit to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees (1) a baseline report within one year of enactment detailing current annual food spending percentages by category (with purchase records including supplier names, contract obligations, and descriptions), GHG emission estimates for procured foods (developed with the Environmental Protection Agency), maximum practicable targets to increase category spending percentages and reduce GHG emissions by calendar year 2032 relative to 2024 (per Executive Order 14057 on federal sustainability), and supply chain recommendations; and (2) annual reports beginning two years after enactment with prior fiscal year spending percentages by category, supplier details, and GHG estimates. This section authorizes $2 million to carry out these requirements, to remain available until expended.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture, for each of FY2026 through FY2031, to use at least $2 million from funds available under Section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c)—which annually appropriates 30% of customs duties for agricultural export promotion, domestic consumption incentives (e.g., diversions to low-income groups), and reestablishing farmers' purchasing power—to competitively enter into procurement contracts with covered producers and covered entities.

This section establishes a five-year pilot program for best value procurement of foods under specified USDA authorities (i.e., those listed in section 4(b)(1)-(4)), requiring the Secretary to annually select bids via a tradeoff process for at least 20% of USDA's annual food spending under such authorities, using evaluation criteria developed after public comment and stakeholder engagement (including covered producers, covered entities, certain underserved groups, food system workers, and commodity program users); and requires annual reports to Congress starting January 1, 2026, on program progress, spending, criteria, and vendor input. The section directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to covered producers and covered entities for equitable participation in USDA procurement programs, including food safety training and certification. It further establishes a competitive grant program for covered producers and specified cooperatives and associations, with grants up to $100,000, terms up to three years, and uses limited to food safety upgrades, accreditations, audits, liability insurance, and food safety plans—ensuring geographic diversity and requiring recipient and Secretary reports to Congress starting January 1, 2026. The section authorizes $25 million for FY2026, to remain available through FY2031.