H.R. 6706: EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act

The Department of Agriculture buys food for school meals, food banks and other nutrition programs, and the bill's findings describe it as one of the largest food purchasers in the world. H.R. 6706, the EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act, sets new priorities for that buying.

First, it tells USDA to purchase a sufficient variety of foods in four groups: food from smaller, newer, veteran or socially disadvantaged producers; food from organic and animal-welfare-certified farms and producer cooperatives; food from vendors with union contracts, labor peace agreements or worker justice certification; and food with a lower climate footprint, including from suppliers with a policy to limit deforestation.

Second, it runs a five-year pilot. Each year, at least 20% of USDA's covered food spending would go through a best-value process, so a supplier could win without being the cheapest bidder. USDA would write the scoring criteria after public comment and input from producers, food workers, tribes, food banks and school meal providers.

Third, it reserves at least $2 million a year from fiscal 2026 through 2031 for competitive contracts with those smaller and priority producers, and with food hubs, processors and distributors that source at least 51% of their value from them.

Fourth, it opens a grant program. Producers and their cooperatives could receive up to $100,000 each, over as long as three years, to pay for food safety upgrades, audits and accreditation, liability insurance and food safety plans. For a small farm, those upfront compliance costs are often the barrier to selling to the federal government at all.

USDA would also report to Congress on how its food spending breaks down across these categories, name every supplier involved, estimate the greenhouse gas emissions tied to its purchases and set targets for 2032.