§2204h Local Food Production and Program Evaluation

Summary

The Secretary must gather and share information about locally or regionally grown food. This includes data on production, marketing, prices, volumes, and the regulatory costs that affect small producers. The Secretary must also work with other agencies to share data, track how programs meant to grow local food systems are working, identify federal rules that block small producers, and study how local food systems help community food security and people who lack access to healthy food. At minimum, the Secretary must publish price and volume reports, do surveys and reports on production, handling, distribution, retail sales, and consumer trends, and evaluate current programs. That evaluation must look at job and economic impacts, participation in the Local Agriculture Market Program (including the share of projects funded and who gets funds), how participants attract private money and its sources, and any extra resources needed. The Secretary must study how federal rules affect small commercial producers’ market access and participation in supplier networks, large distributors, and retail outlets. The Secretary must add local-food questions to the Agricultural Resource Management Survey and try to build public–private partnerships to improve data and regional evaluations. A progress report must be sent to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees within 1 year after February 7, 2014, and each year after.