7 U.S.C. § 7517 — The Gus Schumacher nutrition incentive program

(a) In general

This section defines the key terms used below.

• "Eligible entity" means a government agency or a nonprofit organization.
• "Emergency feeding organization" has the meaning given in section 7501 of this title.
• "Supplemental nutrition assistance program" (SNAP) means the program run under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, plus the nutrition assistance programs under section 19 of that Act.
• "Healthcare partner" means a healthcare provider — a hospital, a federally qualified health center, a hospital or clinic run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, or a healthcare provider group.
• "Member" means a person the eligible entity or healthcare partner decides, under rules the Secretary sets, is either: (A) eligible for SNAP benefits, or eligible for and enrolled in Medicaid under a state plan or waiver; or (B) part of a low-income household that has, or risks developing, a diet-related health condition.

(b) Food insecurity nutrition incentive grants

Authorization. In each of the years listed in subsection (c), the Secretary must give grants to eligible entities, following the rules in paragraph (2). A grantee may partner with, or give subgrants to, public, private, nonprofit, or for-profit groups, including: emergency feeding organizations, agricultural cooperatives, producer networks or associations, community health organizations, public benefit corporations, economic development corporations, farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture programs, buying clubs, SNAP-participating retail food stores, state, local, or tribal agencies, other grantees under this subsection, and any other entity the Secretary names.

Federal share. Federal money can't cover more than 50% of an activity's total cost, except as allowed under (D)(iii) below.

Non-Federal share. The rest of the cost can come from cash or in-kind contributions — like facilities, equipment, or services — from a state or local government, or from a private source. For a for-profit entity, an employee's services (including salaries the employer pays) don't count toward this share. The Secretary may let a tribal agency use money it got from a federal agency (including the Indian Health Service) or another federal benefit to cover all or part of this share, as long as that use fits the purpose of those funds.

Criteria. To get a grant, an entity must meet the Secretary's application rules and propose a project that, at minimum: has the support of the state SNAP agency; would get more low-income SNAP households to buy fruits and vegetables, by giving them a purchase incentive at checkout; would measure that increase in fruit and vegetable purchases — unless the project is $100,000 or less over one year; makes sure SNAP purchases and incentives follow the same terms as purchases by shoppers who don't use SNAP benefits, as set out in 7 CFR 278.2(b) or its successor rule; has real data-collection plans and agrees to supply that data for the report described in subsection (e)(2)(B)(iii); and agrees to share information with the Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Centers set up under subsection (e).

Priority. When picking grantees, the Secretary favors projects that: put the largest share of money into direct incentives for participants; use direct-to-consumer sales marketing; already have a track record of nutrition incentive programs connecting low-income shoppers to farmers; supply locally or regionally grown fruits and vegetables; give incentives only when a shopper buys fruits or vegetables using SNAP benefits, and let the shopper spend the incentive only on more fruits or vegetables; have shown they can serve underserved communities; coordinate with multiple partners — farm groups, nutrition education programs, cooperative extension services, public health departments, healthcare providers, private and public health insurers, cooperative grocers, grocery associations, and community or nongovernmental organizations; offer extra services in high-need communities, like online ordering, transportation to and from the store, and delivery; include food retailers open extended hours and open most or all days of the year; or meet other criteria the Secretary sets.

(c) Produce prescription program

The Secretary must run a grant program funding projects that test and measure their effect on: improving diet by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption; reducing food insecurity for individuals and households; and reducing healthcare use and its cost. A grantee running one of these projects must team up with at least one healthcare partner.

To qualify for a grant, an eligible entity must prescribe fresh fruits and vegetables to members, and submit an application with the information the Secretary requires. It may also give members financial or non-financial incentives to buy fresh produce, give them nutrition education, and set up more places for members to get fresh produce.

The application must name the healthcare partner(s) involved, and must include: a description of how the entity will screen and verify members' eligibility; how it will run the project effectively, including each healthcare partner's role; how it will evaluate members on the goals above; how it will offer nutrition education to members; and how it will tell members where and how to redeem produce prescriptions. It must also describe any other nonprofit or emergency feeding organizations involved and their role; provide proof of a partnership agreement with a state Medicaid agency or similar body to measure whether the project cuts healthcare use and cost; show real data-collection plans and agree to supply that data for the (e)(2)(B)(iii) report; and agree to share information with the Centers set up under subsection (e).

The Secretary must coordinate with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other relevant federal agencies that work with healthcare partners.

The Secretary may sign memoranda of understanding with a federal agency, a state, or a private entity to help these projects succeed. Each memorandum must include a plan for member nutrition education, a description of that partner's role in running and evaluating the project, and proof of a partnership agreement with a state Medicaid agency or similar body.

(d) Applicability

Any benefit a participant gets under subsection (b) or (c) counts as supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits under section 8(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. States must make sure no state or local tax is collected on food bought with this assistance. Grants under (b) and (c) can't fund a project that limits the use of SNAP benefits or benefits under any other federal nutrition law. For SNAP households, this extra assistance doesn't count as part of their SNAP benefit amount, and it can't be used when collecting or resolving SNAP claims under section 13 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.

(e) Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Centers

The Secretary must set up one or more of these Centers, working with the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. As much as practical, the Secretary must consult grocers, farmers, health professionals, researchers, incentive-program managers, and USDA employees with hands-on incentive-program experience about how to design the Centers.

The Centers must be able to: train and give technical help to applicants and grantees — including gathering and sharing best practices on communications, signage, record-keeping, incentive tools, point-of-sale systems, and reporting; spreading information and helping grantee projects, state agencies, and nutrition education programs work together; helping grantees communicate with USDA and state agencies; supporting best practices for produce prescription projects and information-sharing among grantees and healthcare providers; and other services the Secretary picks. The Centers must also build a system to collect core data from grantees — one that uses standard measurements informed by existing projects, involves the same kinds of experienced people listed above in designing how data is collected and reported where practical, compiles grantee data and (starting in fiscal year 2020) produces an annual report to Congress on grant results, including each project's outcomes and how much grant money it used, and creates and keeps a public website with annual reports and program information in a form that protects private or sensitive data.

To do this, the Secretary may competitively enter into one or more cooperative agreements with organizations skilled at outcome-based reporting — at least one with expertise in the food insecurity nutrition incentive program, and at least one with expertise in produce prescription projects. These organizations can include nongovernmental organizations, state cooperative extension services, regional food system centers, federal, state, or tribal agencies, institutions of higher education, or other entities the Secretary picks.

(f) Funding

Congress may appropriate $5,000,000 for this section for each fiscal year from 2014 through 2023.

The Secretary must also use money from the Commodity Credit Corporation, in these amounts: $35,000,000 total for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 combined; $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017; $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; $48,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; $48,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; $53,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and $56,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and every year after that.

For fiscal years 2019 through 2023, out of the funds available each year: no more than 10% can go to the produce prescription program in subsection (c); no more than 8% can go to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Food and Nutrition Service for administration; and for the Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation, and Information Centers in subsection (e), no more than $17,000,000 total for 2019 and 2020 combined, and no more than $7,000,000 for each year from 2021 through 2023.