§7518 Micro-grants for food security

Summary

Provides money to help people and groups in certain U.S. states and territories grow more and better local food through small gardens, herding, and livestock. Eligible entities are: individuals; Indian tribes or tribal groups; nonprofits that work on food security (like churches, food banks, or food pantries); federally funded schools and programs (like Head Start, public K–12, public colleges, Tribal colleges, or job training programs); and local or Tribal governments that cannot collect local taxes. The places covered are Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. Department of Agriculture gives the money to each place’s agricultural agency to run a competition for subgrants. The Department must send 40% of the funds to Alaska, 40% to Hawaii, and 2.5% to each of the other listed places. Those state or territorial funds stay available until spent, and up to 3% may be used for admin, oversight, and reporting. Subgrants go to individuals for up to $5,000 per year and to other eligible entities for up to $10,000 per year. Recipients must provide 10% of the grant amount from nonfederal sources, though a state can waive that for individuals. Grant money must be spent within 3 years. Priority can go to groups that haven’t received a grant before or to areas with the worst food insecurity. Funds can be used for things like tools, soil, seeds, plants, animals, storage and refrigeration, processing, fencing, composting, hydroponics/aeroponics, season-extension structures, travel for agricultural training, shipping, and creating or expanding local food sales, plus other food-security activities. Recipients must report within 60 days after their project ends about how money was used, how much food was grown, and how many people were fed; the state must send an overall report to USDA within 120 days after getting those reports. Congress authorized $10,000,000 each year starting in fiscal year 2019 for this program; those funds remain available until spent, and only money specifically appropriated for this program may be used.