WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) in reintroducing the Local School Foods Expansion Act, bicameral legislation that would improve child nutrition by expanding access to locally-grown, unprocessed fruits and vegetables for school meal programs.
“Healthy, nutritious foods are essential for the well-being of our kids and the future of our communities,” said Senator Welch. “This bill will help more kids access locally grown fruits and vegetables and connect our farmers with new markets in their communities. That’s a win for Vermont kids and for our farms. I’m proud to join my colleagues to introduce this important and much-needed legislation.”
“It’s not rocket science: healthy foods at school set up kids to be successful in and outside of the classroom,” said Senator Wyden. “That’s why I am working to bring fresh foods grown from local farms to school cafeterias in Oregon and across America. This bill ensures that every child – no matter their zip code – has a school lunch that fuels their brains.”
“Access to healthy, local foods is good for both students and farmers,” said Senator Bennet. “The Local School Foods Expansion Act will build on the already successful pilot program and allow more states to participate.”
“As costs skyrocket for poor and working families thanks to Trump’s reckless tariffs and cuts to nutrition assistance and health care, it could not be a more critical time to invest in school meal programs to provide our kids with the nutritious food they need to thrive,” said Rep. Jayapal. “The pilot program this legislation would extend has been a major success for both students and local farmers in my home state of Washington, and I’m proud to support this effort, expanding it to more communities nationwide. Nutritious meals should be available for our kids—regardless of zip code.”
The Local School Foods Expansion Act would expand on this pilot program and make it permanent, giving more states and school food authorities the flexibility to expand nutritious food access in school lunches and develop new relationships with local farmers, growers, and producers. Specifically, the bill would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create a program for at least 14 participating states and school food authorities to buy locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables with existing National School Lunch Program funds.
“The Local School Foods Expansion Act will maximize federal dollars so that school nutrition professionals have options to get kids the freshest options in a time of rising costs, and help small family farmers get a better return on their hard work,” said Karen Spangler, Policy Director, National Farm to School Network.
“Efforts by school nutrition professionals to expand student access to locally grown and raised foods were hard hit by USDA’s recent elimination of the Local Food for Schools program. The Local School Foods Expansion Act takes a critical first step in bolstering local sourcing efforts by helping to build relationships between schools and produce growers to increase the amount of fresh, local fruits and vegetables on students’ breakfast and lunch trays,” said Stephanie Dillard, President, School Nutrition Association, MS, SNS.
During Senator Welch’s tenure in the House, he joined Senator Wyden in securing a pilot program in the 2014 Farm Bill that helped schools buy and serve a wider variety of fresh produce, while ensuring schools in participating states have more flexibility to source fresh foods from local vendors. However, the current program is limited to eight states, including California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Senator Welch has been a leading advocate for protecting and expanding access to nutrition programs in the Senate. In August, the Senator joined nutrition advocates and leaders from across Vermont for a press conference outlining how President Trump and Republicans’ tax and spending bill will hurt SNAP and other hunger and nutrition assistance programs. Senator Welch voted in strong opposition to the bill.
Senator Welch also recently introduced the Improving Access to Nutrition Act of 2025, legislation to help more Americans access SNAP by lifting Republicans’ punitive time limits on SNAP eligibility requirements, and is a cosponsor of the School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act, legislation that directs USDA to pay off all outstanding student meal debt.
Read and download the full text of the bill.
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