PA HB1768 creates a set of grant programs to connect Pennsylvania schools directly with local farms. School districts receive grants scaled to enrollment to purchase locally grown fruits, vegetables, meats, and minimally processed foods, with purchasing preference given to veteran and beginning farmers. Companion grants help farms build the capacity to sell into school markets, and equipment/technical assistance grants help schools handle and prepare local food once it arrives. The bill also creates a dedicated funding account, a public farm-to-school website, and requires a biennial program evaluation. It passed the House in December 2025 and is currently in the Senate Education Committee.

Why It Matters to MAHA

This bill directly reduces the purchasing of ultra-processed, nutrient-dead food in Pennsylvania's public school system by financially incentivizing schools to buy locally grown, minimally processed fruits, vegetables, and meats instead. School food authorities operate at enormous scale, and right now their purchasing decisions are driven by commodity systems built around cheap, industrially processed products. This bill rewires that incentive structure toward real, naturally grown food, and by prioritizing veteran and beginning farmers as preferred suppliers. It ensures that purchasing power flows to the small independent producers which are at the heart of MAHA's agricultural agenda. When government spends money on food, it should spend it on food that actually nourishes, this bill moves Pennsylvania in that direction.