The "Enabling Farmer, Food worker, Environmental, and Climate Targets through Innovative, Values-aligned, and Equitable Food Procurement Act," or EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act, seeks to transform the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) food purchasing practices. Congress finds that the USDA, as a major food purchaser, has a significant opportunity to foster a more just, healthy, and sustainable food system. The bill outlines six key areas for improvement: supporting regional and resilient food economies, enhancing worker well-being, promoting a safe and healthy environment, ensuring equity and inclusion, advocating for fairness for family farms, fishing businesses, and ranches, and improving animal welfare.

To achieve these goals, the bill mandates that the Secretary of Agriculture procure a sufficient variety of foods that align with these values. This includes foods produced by covered producers (e.g., beginning, veteran, socially disadvantaged, small/medium farmers) or sourced from covered entities, and those accommodating religious or restricted diets. Procurement must also prioritize foods from diversified and resilient supply chains, such as those from organic farms or farms with independent animal welfare certification programs. Furthermore, the USDA is directed to purchase foods that support worker well-being, including those from vendors with collective bargaining agreements, worker justice certifications, or labor peace agreements, and foods that mitigate climate change impacts through reduced greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation policies, and environmental co-benefits like improved soil health and biodiversity.

The legislation requires the Secretary to submit a baseline report within one year, detailing current spending percentages across these categories, estimating associated greenhouse gas emissions, and setting targets for 2032 to increase spending on value-aligned foods and reduce emissions. Annually thereafter, the Secretary must report on spending percentages, supplier information, and greenhouse gas emissions. These reports aim to enhance supply chain transparency and recommend improvements for commodity food procurement programs, including increasing local food purchasing.

The bill also establishes a competitive set-aside, requiring the Secretary to use at least $2 million annually from fiscal years 2026 through 2031 to enter into procurement contracts with covered producers and entities. Additionally, it creates a Best Value Procurement Pilot Program, which will use a tradeoff process to select bids for targeted foods, aiming for at least 20 percent of the USDA's annual food spending under covered authorities. This pilot program, which will terminate after five years, requires the establishment of evaluation criteria developed with input from a wide range of stakeholders, including covered producers, Indian Tribes, and food system workers.

Finally, the Act mandates that the Secretary provide technical assistance to covered producers and entities to facilitate their equitable participation in USDA procurement programs, including support for food safety training and certification. It also establishes a competitive grant program, authorizing $25 million for fiscal year 2026, to assist eligible applicants (covered producers and cooperatives) with up to $100,000 for food safety upgrades, accreditations, liability insurance, and developing food safety plans. Grant recipients must report on fund usage and progress toward becoming USDA vendors, with the Secretary providing annual reports to Congress on the program's impact.