Bill > S679

This bill, titled the "Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013," aims to bolster local and regional farm and food systems by introducing several key provisions across various sectors. It seeks to improve access to nutritious food by allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to be used for community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares and by piloting mobile transaction technology for benefit redemption, while also clarifying retailer eligibility and phasing out manual vouchers. The bill also promotes the purchase of locally grown produce for schools and institutions, encourages farm-to-school programs, and increases funding for community food projects and the senior farmers market nutrition program. Furthermore, it supports local food systems through loans to local producers, clarifies the mission of the Farm Credit System to include local food systems, and makes rural business grants available for local food system development, including processing and distribution. Research and education are addressed by initiatives for agriculture and food research, local food system enterprise facilitation, and conventional breeding. The bill also includes provisions for crop insurance, such as expanding the agricultural management assistance program, including organic certification cost share assistance, and developing whole farm risk management insurance plans. Finally, it enhances technical assistance and guidance for small meat and poultry processing establishments, improves label information accessibility, and mandates a report on meat and poultry processing to support these smaller operations.