Delivering for Rural Seniors Act of 2026

93 S3718 IS: Delivering for Rural Seniors Act of 2026 U.S. Senate 2026-01-28 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3718 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 28, 2026 Mr. Kelly (for himself and Mr. Husted ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to establish a pilot program to award grants to facilitate home delivery of commodities under the commodity supplemental food program, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Delivering for Rural Seniors Act of 2026 . 2. Commodity supplemental food program home delivery pilot program The Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 ( 7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 93–86 ) is amended by inserting after section 5 the following: 5A. Commodity supplemental food program home delivery pilot program (a) Purposes The purposes of this section are— (1) to award grants for the operation of projects that increase access for low-income elderly persons to commodities through home delivery; and (2) to evaluate those projects. (b) Definitions In this section: (1) Commodity supplemental food program The term commodity supplemental food program means the program established under section 4. (2) Eligible entity The term eligible entity means— (A) a local agency; or (B) a subdistributing agency. (3) Local agency; State agency; subdistributing agency The terms local agency , State agency , and subdistributing agency have the meanings given those terms in section 247.1 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation). (4) Rural area The term rural area has the meaning given the term in section 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1991(a) ). (c) Grants The Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to State agencies to carry out the activities described in subsection (f)(1). (d) Maximum grant award The amount of a grant awarded to a State agency under subsection (c) may not exceed the lesser of— (1) $4,000,000; and (2) the product obtained by multiplying— (A) the commodity supplemental food program caseload of the applicable State at the time that the application for the grant is submitted under subsection (e); and (B) $60. (e) Applications A State agency seeking a grant under subsection (c) shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (f) Use of grant funds (1) In general A State agency awarded a grant under subsection (c) shall distribute the grant funds to eligible entities to operate projects that facilitate home delivery of commodities to participants in the commodity supplemental food program, including for costs associated with— (A) transportation and distribution of commodities to participants in the commodity supplemental food program, including transportation and distribution services provided by a third party; (B) staffing required to operate home delivery services; and (C) outreach to participants or potential participants in the commodity supplemental food program with respect to home delivery. (2) Priority In distributing grant funds in accordance with paragraph (1), a State agency shall prioritize eligible entities that serve participants in the commodity supplemental food program who reside in a rural area. (g) Report to the Secretary Not later than 180 days after the end of the fiscal year in which a State agency is awarded a grant under subsection (c), and each fiscal year thereafter until all grant funds are expended, a State agency shall submit to the Secretary a report that includes— (1) a summary of the activities carried out under the projects funded by the grant, including the quantity of commodities delivered, number of participants in the commodity supplemental food program served, and total number of deliveries; (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of those projects, including— (A) a calculation of the average cost per delivery; and (B) an evaluation of any services provided by a third party; and (3) best practices regarding use of home delivery to improve the effectiveness of the commodity supplemental food program. (h) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2029, to remain available until expended. .