Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s plan to revive axed farm-to-food bank program advances

by Ian Karbal, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
March 5, 2026

The latest federal Farm Bill advanced out of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Thursday with a 34-17 vote. 

Pennsylvania Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-08) is celebrating the inclusion of a provision he and a group of bipartisan lawmakers have pushed for over the last few months. 

The Local Farmers Feeding Our Community Act effectively seeks to revive a program axed during the early months of the Trump administration. The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) saw the U.S. Department of Agriculture provide funds for states to pay farmers who supply food banks.

The LFPA was established in 2021 as part of the Biden Administration’s coronavirus pandemic response. Its termination drew criticism from Pennsylania Democrats and Republicans alike.

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Gov. Josh Shapiro and state Agriculture Secretary Russel Redding pushed back after the program’s cancellation in March, 2025 resulted in $13 million set aside for Pennsylvania being frozen. Redding appealed, and Shapiro later sued. A district court dismissed the case, but Shapiro appealed the ruling in January.

“Congress has a responsibility to ensure farm policy works for those who grow, raise, and produce our nation’s food,” Bresnahan said in a press release Thursday. “I’m especially proud the Farm Bill includes my bipartisan bill, which will help those in need in our communities access healthy, fresh food produced by their neighbors.”

His bill would allow the USDA to send $200 million per year to states that make cooperative agreements with farmers who supply food banks. A quarter of those funds must be used to purchase from small- and mid-sized producers.

The proposed program has drawn praise from Feeding Pennsylvania CEO Julie Bancroft and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman.

‘We are grateful for Congressman Bresnahan’s leadership on the Local Farmers Feeding our Communities Act in the Farm Bill,” Bancroft said in a statement shared by Bresnahan. “[It] will strengthen local farm economies and ensure all Pennsylvanians can put healthy, local food on their table.”

The Farm Bill, officially titled the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, includes Bresnahan’s Local Farmers Feeding Our Communities Act. It passed out of the House Agriculture Committee chaired by Pennsylvania Republican GT Thompson (R-15).

It still faces a vote before the full House and Senate before it can be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

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