Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI)
Local Foods for Healthy Schools Act of 2026
A Democratic bill with 4 Republican cosponsors · See all 13 cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Local Foods for Healthy Schools Act of 2026 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to create a program that helps schools get local foods. The Secretary will make noncompetitive agreements with eligible government units to buy local foods from covered producers and get them to schools. Funds can be used to buy the food directly or given to school food authorities to make the purchases. A small portion of funds can be used for training and food safety certifications. The program is funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation and additional appropriations.
Yes· 3 of 17
- Scored +9
Would farmers be better off under this?
Provides a direct mechanism for farmers to sell their products to schools.
- Scored +8
Would children be better off under this?
Improves the quality and variety of food available to students in school meal programs.
- Scored +8
Would students be better off under this?
Increases access to fresh, local foods in their daily school meals.
The opposite
- Scored -5
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?
The bill establishes a new spending program for purchasing local foods.
- Scored -2
Does this reduce what the federal government owes?
The bill authorizes additional spending of $400 million annually through the CCC and appropriations.
- Scored -2
Does this make the government pay for what it commits to?
Increases government expenditure without specific offsets.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Local Food Access for Students: The program facilitates the distribution of local foods to schools, which may improve the variety and quality of food students receive (Section 2(a)(2)).
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Support for Local Producers: Farmers, ranchers, and processors designated as covered producers can sell their goods to schools through this program (Section 2(a)(1)).
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Financial Help for Food Safety: The program allows up to 5 percent of funds to be used to pay for the costs a producer incurs to get required food safety certifications (Section 2(b)(2)(B)).
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Training and Assistance: Funds are available to provide technical assistance and training to people helping run the program (Section 2(b)(2)(A)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Funding Limitations: The Secretary is limited to allotting no more than 30 percent of total funds for the State-based allocation that is equal for each State (Section 2(e)(2)).
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Reporting Burdens: Eligible units of government must submit reports with data on fund expenditures, producer names, and foods purchased, which creates an administrative task (Section 2(f)(1)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would farmers be better off under this? — Provides a direct mechanism for farmers to sell their products to schools. Would children be better off under this? — Improves the quality and variety of food available to students in school meal programs. Would students be better off under this? — Increases access to fresh, local foods in their daily school meals. Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — Supports the rural economy by boosting demand for local agricultural products. Would business owners be better off under this? — Creates new revenue streams for owners of local agricultural and processing businesses. Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — Benefits students from low-income families who rely on school meals for nutrition.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this invest in rural communities? — Directly supports rural agricultural producers by facilitating sales to school systems. Does this cut the pollution that drives climate change? — Sourcing foods locally typically reduces the carbon footprint associated with long-distance transportation.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — Requires reports on expenditures and producer names to be made available to the public. Does this leave more decisions to the states? — Provides funding to state-level agencies and units of government to execute the program. Does this give the federal government more power? — Creates a new federal program administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make it easier to run a small business? — Provides direct financial support and market access for small-scale local farmers and processors. Is this likely to grow the economy? — Stimulates local agricultural economies by creating a guaranteed market for local producers. Is this likely to create jobs? — Increased demand for local food production and distribution may create jobs in the agricultural sector. Does this reduce what the federal government spends? — The bill establishes a new spending program for purchasing local foods. Does this make the government pay for what it commits to? — Increases government expenditure without specific offsets. Does this reduce what the federal government owes? — The bill authorizes additional spending of $400 million annually through the CCC and appropriations.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more money into public schools? — Increases resources available to school food authorities for purchasing high-quality local foods.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Is this likely to lift people out of poverty? — Provides better nutritional access to students, which often correlates with poverty reduction efforts.
- Healthcare
- Does this make health care easier to get in general? — Improving the quality and variety of food in schools can lead to better overall health outcomes for students.
- 10/29/2026
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 10/19/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 10/1/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 9/10/2026
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 8/31/2026
- 4 Cosponsors added.
- 7/13/2026
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 6/25/2026
- Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in House
Vern BuchananRepublican · Florida
Nikki BudzinskiDemocrat · Illinois
Jim CostaDemocrat · California
Salud CarbajalDemocrat · California
Christopher DeluzioDemocrat · Pennsylvania
Sharice DavidsDemocrat · Kansas
Gabe EvansRepublican · Colorado
Marcy KapturDemocrat · Ohio
Michael LawlerRepublican · New York
Eleanor NortonDemocrat · District of Columbia
Kim SchrierDemocrat · Washington
Glenn ThompsonRepublican · Pennsylvania
Gabe VasquezDemocrat · New Mexico