Bill · S. 3127· Senate(119-S-3127)
Farm to School Act of 2025
- Introduced
- 11/6/2025
- Last activity
- 11/6/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
- Sponsored by
- Peter Welch
- Cosponsors
- - 2 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Farm to School Act of 2025 reauthorizes the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program through 2031. It expands the program by adding land-grant colleges and universities as eligible institutions and increasing funding to $15,000,000. The bill focuses on improving local food procurement, funding educational activities, and providing technical assistance. It specifically prioritizes projects serving socially disadvantaged backgrounds and Tribal communities. Additionally, it requires the Secretary to report on regulatory barriers affecting local food production and marketing.
Yes· 3 of 24
Would children be better off under this?+8
Improves access to healthy, local foods and nutrition education for children.
Would Native Americans be better off under this?+8
Gives highest priority to projects serving Tribal communities and Tribal agricultural producers.
Would farmers be better off under this?+8
Increases demand for local produce and provides technical and financial support for producers.
The opposite
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?-2
The bill increases the appropriation for the Farm to School program.
Does this reduce what the federal government owes?-1
The bill increases government spending by raising the program funding to $15 million.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Funding: The bill increases the funding amount to $15,000,000, which provides more resources for the program (Section 2(8)(A)).
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Expanded Eligibility: Land-grant colleges and universities are now included as eligible institutions for grants and assistance (Section 2(3)(B)).
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Support for Tribal Communities: The Secretary must give highest priority to projects serving Tribal communities that use products from Tribal agricultural producers (Section 2(6)(B)).
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Reduced Application Barriers: The Secretary can waive or modify matching requirements to help projects that meet high-priority criteria apply more easily (Section 2(5)(C)(i)).
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Health and Education Focus: The program will prioritize identifying and addressing chronic diet-related health issues in children and incorporating culturally appropriate food and nutrition education (Section 2(6)(E) and (G)(viii)).
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Aid for Diverse Farmers: Technical assistance will be provided to increase participation for beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers (Section 2(7)(A)(iv)).
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Improved Infrastructure: Funding may be provided for innovative ways to handle the aggregation, processing, transportation, and distribution of local foods (Section 2(4)(B)(C)(ii)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Grant Limits: There is a maximum cap of $500,000 per grant recipient, which may limit the scale of larger projects (Section 2(4)(D)(i)).
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Time Constraints: Grants are limited to a term of no more than 3 years (Section 2(4)(D)(ii)).
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Use of Funds Restriction: Grant funds cannot be used solely to hold a conference (Section 2(4)(E)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Children+8Good For Farmers+8Good For Native Americans+8Good For Rural Residents+8Good For Low Income Households+6Good For Students+6Good For African Americans+5Good For Business Owners+5Good For Hispanic Americans+5Good For Veterans+4Good For Young Adults+3
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Rural Development+7Reduces Carbon Emissions+2
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Racial Equity+5Improves Poverty Reduction+3
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Small Business Support+6Improves Economic Growth+2Increases Job Creation+2Reduces Government Spending-2Reduces National Debt-1
- Education And Technology
- Increases Public School Funding+4Increases Scientific Research Funding+2
- Healthcare
- Improves Healthcare Access+3Increases Research Funding+2
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+3Increases Federal Power+1
- 7/15/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 11/6/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Lisa Blunt RochesterDemocrat · Delaware
Susan CollinsRepublican · Maine
Elissa SlotkinDemocrat · Michigan