Sec. 1. Findings

402 words·~2 min read·/bill/118/hr/9980/ih/section-1

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Congress finds the following: There are approximately 7.5 million Jewish Americans and 3.45 million Muslim Americans. Thirty-five percent of Jewish Americans and 83 percent of Muslim Americans follow religiously required dietary restrictions. Meaningful percentages of Jewish and Muslim American communities are food insecure and could benefit from Department of Agriculture emergency food programs such as the Emergency Food Assistance Program (commonly known and referred to in this section as TEFAP ).

Studies have shown that people in the United States that follow religiously required diets will forgo food even if hungry rather than eat food that is forbidden to them. Kosher and halal food options in these programs are therefore essential for individuals adhering to religiously required dietary restrictions. Estimates suggest that 50 percent of the food on grocery store shelves in the United States has at least one kosher certification. Despite the fact that kosher and halal products are readily available in the commercial marketplace, while the Department of Agriculture has expanded kosher and halal options available through TEFAP, Department of Agriculture feeding programs currently do not provide sufficient options to fully meet the needs of people in the United States with religiously required dietary restrictions.

For example, TEFAP currently only requires 8 certified kosher products and 1 halal certified product. Congress has in the past, recognized the need to increase access to emergency kosher and halal food in the Nation's food programs. Through TEFAP, Congress previously sought to expand access to kosher and halal food through Department of Agriculture programs by mandating that the Secretary shall finalize and implement a plan to increase the purchase of Kosher and Halal food . Nevertheless, the lack of current kosher and halal food options prevent those with religiously required diets from fully participating in the Nation’s food programs and are fundamentally unfair and inequitable.

As part of the United States National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, the Department of Agriculture is committed to work to ensure equal access to all USDA feeding programs for USDA customers with religious dietary needs. This will include increasing commercially available kosher and halal foods that are priorities for Jewish and Muslim program participants; expanding the number of kosher or halal certified foods in USDA’s food procurement; training schools on how to meet students’ religious dietary needs for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs; and expanding outreach and technical assistance for kosher and halal meat processors. .