Bill Summary
The "Food and Farm Emergency Assistance Act" is a bill that aims to provide support and resources to agricultural producers and other food-related businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive grants to eligible entities to carry out activities that support health and safety, or adapt production, processing, distribution, and sales systems to address the challenges presented by the pandemic. The bill outlines the eligible uses for the grant funds, which includes protecting employee and consumer health and safety, transitioning to different business models, and purchasing equipment for food processing and storage. Eligible entities must submit an application to be considered for the grant, and the Secretary will give preference to proposals that expand food access, enhance food distribution, address agricultural oversupply and food waste, or benefit young, beginning, or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. The bill also sets limitations on the amount of grant funds that can be received, and requires the Secretary to conduct outreach to states and eligible entities about the availability of the grants. The bill allocates $100,000,000 from the Commodity Credit Corporation for fiscal year 2020 to carry out the provisions of the act. The term "COVID-19 emergency period" is defined as the period of time designated by the Social Security Act.
Possible Impacts
1. The Food and Farm Emergency Assistance Act could provide financial relief and support for small or very small processors with less than 150 employees who may be struggling to adapt and continue production during the COVID-19 pandemic. This could potentially help keep these businesses afloat and maintain a stable food supply chain.
2. The Act's preference for applications that expand access to food for vulnerable populations, such as those receiving SNAP benefits or participating in school or child nutrition programs, could potentially benefit low-income individuals and families who may be facing food insecurity due to the pandemic.
3. Eligible entities such as local distributors and farmers markets could use grant funds to purchase or lease equipment for food processing, storage, or refrigeration, which could increase their efficiency and ability to distribute fresh and healthy food to communities in need during the COVID-19 emergency period.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7656 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7656
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive grants to
certain agricultural producers and other food-related businesses to
carry out activities to support health and safety, or to adapt
production, processing, distribution, and sales systems, in response to
COVID-19, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2020
Ms. Schrier (for herself and Mr. Larsen of Washington) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive grants to
certain agricultural producers and other food-related businesses to
carry out activities to support health and safety, or to adapt
production, processing, distribution, and sales systems, in response to
COVID-19, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Food and Farm Emergency Assistance
Act''.
SEC. 2. FOOD BUSINESS INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT RESPONSE GRANTS.
(a) Grants.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the
Administrator of the Agriculture Marketing Service, shall make grants
to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, to carry out activities
to support worker and public health and safety, or to adapt production,
processing, distribution, and sales systems, in response to COVID-19.
(b) Eligible Uses.--Amounts received by an eligible entity under a
grant under this section shall be used for activities directly relating
to COVID-19 response and recovery, including--
(1) costs incurred during the COVID-19 emergency period
that are associated with protecting employee and consumer
health and safety, such as for personal protective equipment;
(2) costs incurred during such period that are associated
with transitioning to a different businesses model, such as
direct-to-consumer, online sales, or delivery;
(3) costs incurred during such period to purchase or lease
equipment for food processing, storage, or refrigeration; and
(4) other similar costs incurred during such period that
arise from adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(c) Applications.--
(1) In general.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under
this section shall submit to the Secretary an application in
such manner, at such time, and containing such information as
the Secretary may require.
(2) Requirements.--The Secretary shall ensure that the
application required under paragraph (1) is--
(A) as simple as is practicable;
(B) accessible online; and
(C) also available through all local offices of the
Department of Agriculture.
(3) Decisions.--Not later than 7 days after the date on
which the Secretary receives an application under paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall notify the eligible entity that
submitted the application--
(A) whether the application is approved or denied;
(B) if the application is approved, the date on
which the eligible entity will receive the grant funds;
and
(C) if denied, the reason for denial and whether
the application may be revised and resubmitted.
(4) Preferences.--In reviewing applications submitted under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give preference to
applications containing proposals intended to--
(A) expand access to food for participants in--
(i) the supplemental nutrition assistance
program established under section 4 of the Food
and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2013); and
(ii) a program authorized under the Richard
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1751 et seq.) or Child Nutrition Act of 1966
(42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), including the
national school lunch program, the national
school breakfast program, the summer food
service program for children, the special
supplemental nutrition program for women,
infants, and children, and the child and adult
care food program;
(B) enhance food distribution in high-need or
underserved areas;
(C) address local agricultural product oversupply
issues and reduce food waste; or
(D) benefit young farmers or ranchers, beginning
farmers of ranchers (as defined in section 2501(a) of
the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of
1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))), or socially disadvantaged
farmers or ranchers (as defined in such section
2501(a)).
(d) Limitations on Amounts.--The amount of a grant under this
section shall not exceed--
(1) in the case of an eligible entity described in
subsection (f)(1), $15,000; and
(2) in the case of any other eligible entity, $35,000.
(e) Outreach.--The Secretary shall conduct outreach to States and
eligible entities with respect to the availability of grants under this
section.
(f) Eligible Entity Defined.--In this section, the term ``eligible
entity'' means--
(1) an individual agricultural producer;
(2) a group of agricultural producers, including--
(A) a cooperative; and
(B) a network or association of individual farms;
(3) a small or very small processor of agricultural
products with less than 150 employees, as determined by the
Secretary;
(4) a local distributor, including a food hub and a farmers
market; and
(5) any other business that is critical to maintaining a
resilient agricultural supply chain in the United States, as
determined by the Secretary.
(g) Funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the
Secretary shall use $100,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal
year 2020, to remain available until expended.
(h) COVID-19 Emergency Period.--The term ``COVID-19 emergency
period'' has the meaning given the term ``emergency period'' in section
1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)(B)).
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